Guyana ‘spy agency’ to get oversight board with civilian reps – Director says

Jul 17, 2025 News

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…but bill to give legal structure to entity stuck in Parliament

Kaieteur News – Amid concerns over the management of Guyana’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) and government using sensitive information to target critics and its political opponents, Colonel Sheldon Howell has said that soon the unit will have an oversight board with civil society voices.

Howell made the comments during a government interview programme called ‘Safeguarding our Nation.” Government had tabled the National Intelligence and Security Agency Bill back in 2023 to legally create NISA, but the bill was sent to a special select committee of Parliament. It has not yet emerged from that committee even as the 12 Parliament has been dissolved. The opposition has expressed concerns that the head of agency is speaking about the creation of a board for NISA when the bill has not been passed.

When contacted on the issue, Attorney General, Anil Nandlall would only say that the bill would have to be retabled in a new parliament. When the bill was introduced Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton had said that it was retrogressive, dictatorial and not going to promote security. Norton said at the time that such an agency was going to result in political harassment; harassment to citizens and violation of their rights.

Among other things the bill had outlined that the agency would be responsible for collecting data, processing it from many sources and provide such data, report and also advice to the President on matters of national security. The agency would be tasked with the responsibility to do investigations on matters relating to national security. Choosing the director of the agency will be done by the President and the director will be named from the GDF, the GPF, or a civilian agency.

Members the agency are expected to swear to several secrecy laws, which if violated can see jail time or fines. Under such instances, Norton had said that while the agency is needed it cannot be set up so in that manner where the President possesses so much power. “While we believe that there should be an intelligence agency, we don’t believe that it should have sweeping powers, that the President [should be] appointing this person to suppress people’s views, ” Norton was quoted in a Stabroek News article as saying. “It does appear to me that they are setting up a dictatorship, they are going to violate people rights, and they are putting the legal framework to do that”, Norton railed.

Clause 24 provides for the provision of information by public bodies to the Agency on request by the Director notwithstanding the Access to Information Act 2011 or any other law. Clause 25 provides that for the purposes of the Access to Information Act 2011 the Agency shall not be regarded as a public authority. Clause 26 provides for the Agency to be kept apprised by entities in the security sector with all “relevant and timely information and intelligence relating to national security interest”.

Under Clause 32, the Director with the approval of the President may assign officers of the Agency to serve as liaison officers to embassies abroad, when necessary for the fulfilment of the responsibilities of the Agency pursuant to this Act.

Meanwhile, during the programme, Howell said Guyana’s strategic military framework is committed to the protection of its people and sovereignty, to ensure that peace and safety remain intact and are of paramount importance. “We do not want to take away people’s freedom, we want to protect it. Yes, we use CCTV, sophisticated cameras, drones, satellite imagery and other AI systems that detect patterns…,” the NISA head explained, according to a Department of Public Information (DPI) release. He assured that at the NISA “we stick rigidly to the laws that govern us.”

Elaborating further, Howell said that “every piece of equipment is logged and audited, and there is no access to footage without traceability. We also have strict access control and oversight systems. Soon we will have an oversight board with civil society voices.”

The head of NISA announced plans to improve the protection of children by enhancing response mechanisms for missing persons. “We have also upgraded the response mechanism for missing persons, especially children, and soon enough as well. We will have a national alert system that sends real-time information to your phones, TVs, radios and social media platforms…These tools are not threats. Once it is used with discipline and purpose, [it] will earn the public’s trust,” he said.

Veteran trade unionist and General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) Lincoln Lewis had also raised concerns about the bill when it was introduced and had called for there to be public hearings. “Labour calls on the Select Committee where this National Intelligence and Security Bill to facilitate public hearings. This request is made based on past experiences where there has been minimal agreement at the level of the Committee, and the PPP returns to the Parliament and rams the Bill through,” the trade unionist said while noting that the implications of the legislation are “grave”.

Lewis had made this call during his 2023 Labour Day address at Critchlow Labour College, Woolford Avenue days after President Irfaan Ali had instructed Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira and Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC to send the NISA Bill to a Special Select Committee “so that the views and ideas of all stakeholders can be examined.” President Ali at the time had said: “I am aware of the importance of this Bill, but equally, I am committed to ensuring the fulsome nature of the Bill is understood and that interested stakeholders be given the opportunity to contribute to it.”

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• NISA, Political harassment, Sheldon Howell, Spy Agency

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