The United States Agency for International Development announces a $500,000 USD Extractive Industries Transparency Project to promote transparency and good governance in Guyana’s extractive industries.
According to a statement from the US Embassy in Georgetown on Friday, the aim of the project is to build capacity for administration and governance of Guyana’s extractive resources and address gaps identified in Guyana’s first published report (visit https://gyeiti.org/ to download).
The project will also address required changes in data collection, monitoring and reporting systems that support Guyana’s attainment of the EITI 2019 Standard. “Activities will include streamlining systematic public disclosure of data from the oil, gas, mining, forestry and fishery sectors; and raising awareness among citizens about the importance of transparency and accountability in the extractives sector,” the release said.
The release said that the discovery of “vast offshore oil reserves” in 2015 constituted a milestone for Guyana’s economic prospects and is expected to rapidly propel Guyana’s economy upward. “During this transition period, transparency, accountability and good governance will determine Guyana’s ability to responsibly manage its extractive resources and ensure revenues benefit the Guyanese people, and this program supports attainment of these standards,” the release said.
It said key program partners include the Guyana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) secretariat, the Multi-Stakeholder Group and other stakeholders from government, industry and civil society. It noted too that the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) is implementing this program, which concludes in September 2020.
Following the publishing of Guyana’s first EITI Report (covering year 2017) in April 2019, the country is expected to be validated by officials of the EITI International Secretariat in Norway. The validation process is a rigorous assessment of Guyana’s performance against the requirements of the EITI 2019 Standard. The country is in the process of hiring an Independent Administrator to prepare Guyana’s second EITI report this time covering year 2018.
