Will Guyana Face Suspension From The Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI)?
Guyana became a member of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) in 2017 under the former Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman. The EITI, “is the global standard to promote the open and accountable management of extractive resources.” They believe that a “country’s natural resources belong to its citizens.” The global standards under the EITI are intended to ensure the transparency, accountability, and public management of oil, gas, and mineral resources.
Under the EITI, countries are expected to provide full disclosure in regards to extraction, the value chain, along with the transparent flow of revenue through the government, and how it collectively benefits the public. This process includes issuing licenses, allocating contracts, fiscal and legal arrangements, amounts produced, amounts paid, distributions of revenues, and contributions to the economy that include employment. EITI is currently made up of 55 countries fully supported by a coalition of government, companies, and civil societies.
Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) Timeline
2002 – Launched
2003 – EITI Principles are agreed
2009 – Rules agreed and assessment of EITI Countries
2013 –EITI standards replace EITI rules, moving requirements beyond revenue
transparency
2016 – The EITI standards revised to include beneficial ownership disclosure requirements
2019 – The EITI standard is modified to include disclosure on contracts, gender, environment, and commodity training.
EITI implementation in Guyana
Under the APNU+AFC government, the former minister of Natural Resources, Rafael Trotman, introduced a task force called the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) to focus on meeting the EITI guidelines. The task force was officially launched in 2017 with 12 members and four representatives from civil society organizations, extractive entities, and government agencies. The GYEITI was then set up as the national secretariat for coordinating the EITI implementation.
GYEITI Timeline
Under the APNU+AFC administration, the GYEITI website was set up to deliver clear transparency information about oil development in Guyana and its current partners. Citizens looking to gain insights into the oil market state can gather updated information on the agreements.
Here is a link to the first report submitted to the EITI
https://gyeiti.org/wp-content/uploads/FinalGYEITIReport-FY2017.pdf
The EITI, expects full cooperation from its 55 members to fulfill all required guidelines. These requirements will help to provide data for a greater sense of transparency and accountability in the extractives sector.
EITI Guidelines link
https://eiti.org/document/eiti-standard-2019#EITI-Requirements-2019
The most important question is, will Guyana be ready to meet all the requirements by January 1st 2021? This means that all information concerning the oil industry will be made public to the citizens of Guyana. Hereafter, the public will know if there is any corruption concerning spending and the allocation of funds. Funding also will be withheld if any crimes are discovered.
The EITI looks to journalists and civil society organizations to translate the technical information about general audience disclosures. Accountability is the central core of its mandate. Its main objectives are to address corruption and to achieve sustainable development goals.
Guyana is amongst several other countries that need to comply with the EITI regulations and submit transparency requirements. According to data from the EITI website, Ecuador, Netherlands, Nigeria, Uganda, Argentina, Peru, Suriname, Uganda, Germany, Mexico, Niger, and Guyana will be required to submit contract disclosure licenses granted or amended by January 1st, 2021. Honduras, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, Guatemala, Central African Republic, and Afghanistan are currently under suspension due to political instability or missing the deadline.
