December 11,2021
Kaieteur News – To ensure the Natural Resources Fund (NRF) faces no encumbrance to its operationalization, Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said the 22-member Public Accountability and Oversight Committee will not be featured in the amended legislation, which will be tabled in the National Assembly next week Thursday.
Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo
During his address at the 2021 Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Gala on Thursday evening, the Vice President said the current legislation which was passed by former Finance Minister, Winston Jordan is “written like an academic paper.” He continued, “It is cumbersome. It is almost impossible to operationalize and there are measures there that don’t lend themselves to people understanding how it works.”
He said the government will, therefore, make four major sets of changes in the NRF legislation with the first being the removal of the oversight committee consisting of 22 organizations. The Vice President is of the firm conviction that such an arrangement would hinder the smooth running of the fund. He said, “…it is almost impossible to get anything done with 22 different organizations having oversight responsibility.”
Kaieteur News had reported in 2018 when the NRF Bill was first tabled that it had paved the way for the creation of the “Public Accountability and Oversight Committee”, which was tasked with providing the nation with independent assessments on the management of the Fund and the utilization for withdrawals from the Fund.
It is also be responsible for monitoring and evaluating the compliance of the government and other relevant persons when it comes to the principles of transparency, good governance and international best practices, including the Santiago Principles, when using the Natural Resource Fund.The Committee, according to the existing law, was expected to include a representative from civil society organizations and community based organizations, a nominee to represent women with the nominee being nominated by civil society organizations; a nominee of the Bar Association of Guyana; a representative of the Guyana Consumer’s Association; a nominee of the Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a nominee of Transparency International Guyana Inc. (TIGI); a nominee of the Guyana Press Association; a nominee of most representative associations of trade unions; a nominee of the Private Sector Commission, one from each of the 10 Regional Democratic Councils and a nominee from academia who is nominated by the governing council of the University of Guyana.Additionally, the former Government had paved the way for the Committee to have financial resources to carry out its functions. It was also expected to publish bi-annual reports of its activities on its website and that of Parliament’s.
While Jagdeo did not say if the amended law would feature any mechanism for oversight from civil society groups, it is crucial to note that Ghana, which Guyana is currently consulting on its legislative framework, has a similar arrangement in place for the oversight of oil money saved and expended by the government.
In 2011, the Parliament of Ghana had passed the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, which included the establishment of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC). The 13 civil society members of the committee—which includes representatives of the unions, traditional chiefs, journalists, lawyers, chartered accountants and religious groups, who are appointed by the Minister of Finance for two to three year secure terms—are mandated to: Monitor and evaluate compliance with the Petroleum Revenue Management Act; Provide a platform for public debate on whether petroleum revenues are being used to advance development priorities; and Provide an independent assessment of the management and use of petroleum revenues.
The PIAC represents the only legislated petroleum revenue management oversight body in Ghana, consisting entirely of civil society members and therefore completely independent. Since its establishment, the Committee has been successful in holding the Government of Ghana accountable on how it spends and saves the citizens’ oil money. It has also been instrumental in recommending several areas for improvement, many of which to date are at various stages of implementation.
