The Guyana government is moving towards the urgent development of a legislative framework to manage the oil and gas sector, and among the tasks on the agenda is the development of laws that will allow for use of the proceeds from oil and gas to be used to invest in other areas of the economy.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall on January 7, said the Law Reform Commission would be the driving force of the government’s legislative agenda. Back in November, he had announced that amendments to the Law Reform Commission Act have been approved by Cabinet and these amendments would see persons other than lawyers, such as persons with backgrounds in finance, natural and social sciences, and law enforcement, being placed on the Commission.
The Minister of Legal Affairs admitted that the government has acknowledged that the existing laws– not just those governing the oil and gas sector – are archaic.
“Now that we are in government, we have to, with some degree of alacrity, proceed to build not only a legislative agenda for the oil and gas sector but indeed a legislative agenda that will enable us to use the benefits and proceeds from the oil and gas sector to develop other sectors in the economy,” Nandlall stated.
Further, Nandlall emphasised that the sector cannot be viewed in isolation because it’s part and parcel of the economy of Guyana. “…Therefore, the proceeds and revenues that the oil and gas sector will generate will necessarily be invested in other sectors of the economy,” he stated.
The government has said that the proceeds from the sector would be used for the diversification of the economy, with emphasis being placed on the agriculture and manufacturing sectors.
The government will also be looking to establish laws to protect the environment and to ensure Guyana’s Local Content Policy imperatives are advanced. In terms of other pieces of legislation being considered, Nandlall shared, “We have to have one where the sector is managed by a framework and managed by technocrats and not politicians.” It should be noted that the Petroleum Commission Bill, which seeks to set up the body to manage the sector is currently being amended by the Legal Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources in order for it to be retabled in the National Assembly.
Additionally, the government has signalled its intent to amend the framework for the Natural Resources Fund, “We have to have one (legislation) that has a legislative framework that caters for how oil proceeds will be recovered, how it will be saved and how it will be invested in the future.”
