Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 27, 2021 News
By Kemol King
Kaieteur News – The Irfaan Ali administration has made multiple promises about being transparent in its stewardship of the oil sector, but it has not delivered on some accounts. This latest issue adds yet another notch to the Government’s failed commitments, in this regard.
The Government is not living up to its commitment to release oil reports to the press. Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, had made this commitment during a February 9 press conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, after being asked about it by Kaieteur News.
“I don’t see anything secret about this,” he had said. “It’s no big deal.”
Yet, Kaieteur News had made at least 10 attempts since the promise was made, to access the reports through the Ministry of Natural Resources. These include contact with the Minister’s Personal Assistant, Stephon Gabriel, and later, the Minister himself, Vickram Bharrat. The Minister told Kaieteur News on Wednesday that he would make contact on the next day, Thursday, but he did not.
Kaieteur News understands that de facto oil minister, Dr. Jagdeo, did not immediately green light the release of the reports, and that this is the cause of the hold-up.
“I’m gonna talk to them to ensure that you get it, the monthly statements,” Dr. Jagdeo had told Kaieteur News, after encouraging reporters to request them.
Under the previous administration, Winston Jordan’s Ministry of Finance had started publishing monthly oil statements, which included details on petroleum revenues, as well as production statements. They did not have to be requested.
In those reports, the Ministry had noted the need for transparency in these matters: “In establishing the [Natural Resource Fund] NRF, Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana committed to managing the Fund according to the principles of good governance including transparency, and accountability, and international best practices including the Santiago Principles. To ensure transparency and accountability, the NRF Act 2019 requires several reports on the NRF to be published, including, but not limited to: (5) Monthly reports of the NRF.”
As for the Publication of Reports – Article 42 of the Natural Resource Fund Act, under the section Accounting, Reporting and Auditing, states “The Minister shall publish on the website of the Ministry and generally make available to the public… (c) the monthly reports within seven working days after they have been submitted to the Minister by the Bank…”
The Ali administration has said that it does not agree with the current configuration of the Act, and will replace it, but it has not done this yet. In the interim, the Act remains law, and not publishing the legally mandated monthly reports on the Minister’s website is a breach of same. But the website of the Ministry of Finance had been down for weeks after the installation of Senior Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh. It was only the day after he presented the 2021 budget that the website, after being revamped, went back online. The reports cannot be found there.
Kaieteur News is seeking to collect all production statements leading back to the start of oil production, after former Minister Jordan stopped publishing them. Other documents promised but not delivered, include the findings of the Canadian Alison Redford on the Payara review, and production licences for the Liza Phases One and Two projects.
LISTEN HOW JAGDEO WILL MAKE ALL GUYANESE RICH!!!
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