Gov’t examining options to tackle GFC’s money woes

Cabinet has agreed that the ministers of Natural Resources and Finance would engage to examine short and medium-term remedies to enable the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) to make outstanding payments to staff, which could include tapping the Contingencies Fund.

Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman said he met with members of the GFC Board, management, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union, and workers’ representatives in a “brainstorming session” to address current cash flow issues at the GFC.

At the meeting, he had promised to seek from Cabinet, approval for a subvention to meet the outstanding payments to staff. As a result, he said, he briefed Cabinet on Tuesday about the situation and provided some background information. “I am to speak further to Minister of Finance [Winston Jordan] to access all possible outcomes. The situation that had arisen at the [GFC] whereby, due to a combination of circumstances, the commission was experiencing cash flow challenges that require intervention,” Trotman said.

He added that Cabinet has agreed that he and Jordan would engage to examine short and medium-term remedies including, “the possible use of the [Contingencies Fund] for urgent relief, financing from the [Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund] in light of the commission’s stellar role in monitoring, verification and reporting (MVR) under the Guyana/Norway deal.”

A report is also expected to be submitted to Cabinet following the ministerial engagement.

Trotman also highlighted the circumstances that impacted on the GFC cash flow challenges, and said that the re-possession of Baishanlin’s holdings and the relinquishment of Barama’s concession, were two of the main ones that led to less production and revenue from royalties.

He also said the commission’s evolving role as “conservator of forests” to ensure that Guyana’s international obligations to conserve more forests were met, was also a major factor given that more forests were placed into protected or reserved categories, which meant that more persons had to be employed to monitor and safeguard it. He also said that the depletion of the GFC’s reserves in 2014, arising out of the payment of $600 million for the construction of the High Street building – since deemed unusable – that housed the old Guyana Broadcasting Corporation, was also a factor.