Guyana as dumpsite for petroleum wastes

Guyana is often mentioned for less than stellar reasons. There’s Jonestown (‘(s)he drank the Kool Aid’), rigged elections, the poorest country after Haiti in CARICOM and Latin America, the costliest failed infrastructural project in CARICOM (US$250M Skeldon sugar factory), and failed or captured regulatory agencies. Standouts among the latter was the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM)…

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Opportunity for Guyanese Diaspora to make their views known as Guyana undergoes first Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) validation which commenced on October 1

According to a notice on the Guyana EITI (GYEITI) website (www.gyeiti.org), Guyana is undergoing its first validation visit which started on October 1. The EITI based in Norway will give Guyana scores on 3 indicators: stakeholder engagement, transparency, and outcomes and impact, using the scale – not met, partly met, mostly met, fully met, and exceeded. This…

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Government’s refusal to release oil and gas data is disrespectful to the people of Guyana

I noticed in today’s paper three full-page ads in newspapers, celebrating Caribbean Statistics Day under the theme, “Leave No One Behind…Everyone Counts.” There were messages by “Senior Minister of Finance” (no longer Minister within the Presidency?), the Chairman of the Bureau of Statistics Board, and the CARICOM Secretary General. The Senior Minister said, “Government recognizes…

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Takeaways from Environmental Assessment Board’s ‘public hearing’ on Vista Trading impact study waiver

The Environmental Assessment Board (EAB) is appointed by the Natural Resources Minister and comprises three persons. No qualifications or experience are listed in the Environmental Protection (EP) Act for EAB members.  The EAB Commissioners for the 2021 calendar year are Mr Omkar Lochan (Chair, third year of service on the EAB), Ms Pradeepa Bholanauth, who…

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Webinar: Discuss the Escazú Agreement, challenges associated with its implementation

On 7 October at 3pm EST, the Global Network for Human Rights and the Environment (GNHRE) and the Special Rapporteurship on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (REDESCA)  are hosting an extraordinary panel of speakers who will come together to discuss the Escazú Agreement, challenges associated with its implementation and the…

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Utilizing Escazú – Part 2

The Escazú Agreement, or “Escazú”, is a regional agreement in which Guyana is obligated to guarantee citizens’ right of access to information, public participation and justice in environmental matters. Part One of this presentation dealt with two legal rights of citizens in environmental matters – namely, access to information and access to justice.  This second…

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