Teixeira writes Norwegians over Govt’s “continued lies and attacks”

Guyana/Norway Forest partnership…

– PPP will support hold on projects funded under REDD+\

Chief Whip of the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Gail Teixeira has written to the Norwegian Government, expressing what she described as the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government’s continued “lies and attacks” on the integrity of the Guyana-Norway partnership on climate change and forests.

Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira

Director of Government of Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative, Per Fredrik Ilsaas Pharo

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman

In a letter dated February 16, 2016, to the Director of Government of Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative, Per Fredrik Ilsaas Pharo, Teixeira said that her party was gravely concerned about the recent attacks in recent days coming from the Government.

She singled out a recent statement in the National Assembly during the 2016 National Budget by Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman, who said that all of Guyana’s productive forest was allocated by previous PPP/C Governments, mainly to foreign investors.

Teixeira in her four-page missive said that the attacks followed statements by Finance Minister Winston Jordan during his 2015 Budget presentation that it will be “a downright criminal act of deception were we to proceed with Amaila Falls.”

“These irresponsible public statements on Guyana’s forestry management and Amaila Falls seek to tarnish the Peoples’ Progressive Party’s track record on forest conservation, sustainable forest management and climate change,” Teixeira said.

She also charged that the statements also deliberately question the integrity of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and the Guyana-Norway partnership for which forest conservation is a key pillar and the Amaila Falls Hydropower plantis a flagship project.

She called on Trotman to issue a full retraction and to apologise to the people of Guyana, since his statements are not based on facts.

Teixeira said that publicly available data will show that about seven million hectares of forest have been allocated for concessions, less than 38 per cent of Guyana’s 18,483,000 hectares of forest or about 55 per cent of the State Forest Estate.

She added about 2.8 million hectares of large concessions were allocated by the PPP/C Government between 1992 and 2015, and about half of the large concessions were issued by the People’s National Congress Government before 1992, including the seven million hectares to Barama.

Some 5.5 million hectares of the State Forest Estate remains unallocated.
The Opposition Chief Whip called on Trotman to explain what he meant by 100 per cent of the productive forest was allocated by the PPP/C Government.

“We fear that Minister Trotman’s attacks are symptomatic of a wider attack on the Guyana-Norway partnership,” Teixeira said, adding that “We also ask that you engage with Minister Trotman and request him to substantiate his recent statements.”

Teixeira also highlighted that since the change of Government, a number of initiatives regarding the partnership have been falling by the wayside, including no LCDS Multi-Stakeholder Steering Committee meeting, the absence of information about GRIF-funded projects on the LCDS website and Amerindian and other stakeholders not being consulted on the LCDS or the Guyana-Norway partnership.

“We have real concerns about the Government’s commitment to the standards required by the partnership – especially as they relate to transparency, accountability and the quality of technical work,” she stated.

Teixeira noted Norway’s decision to maintain a 2015 decision to suspend the disbursement of money to Guyana has not been lifted since a new Government is in place. A payment of US$40 million remains pending.

She said the Opposition was also concerned that there seem to be no progress towards a new agreement, despite the fact that the last payment under the partnership was to be paid for performance up to the end of 2014.

“Our party continues to believe that the Guyana-Norway partnership can be good for Guyana and for the world and therefore, the Government must show it is serious about adhering to the standards the agreement requires,” she sated.

“In that situation, the PPP will have no choice but to support Norway putting on hold projects and funds to be administered under the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) pending independent investigation of Minister Trotman’s claims” she said.

She reminded that her party wants to see the Guyana-Norway partnership regain its original high levels of ambition and the party will support the Government in any action that is in line with this vision.