Guyana taking piecemeal approach to contract disclosure

If the overarching goal of the coalition administration is comprehensive transparency and accountability in the governance of natural resources, then it will publish the contracts for all natural resources.

This was recently noted by the Open Society Foundation, a UK-based organization that financially supports civil society groups around the world with a stated aim of advancing justice, education, public health and independent media. The Foundation said that the publishing of contracts for just the oil sector thus far in Guyana can only be described as a piecemeal approach by the Government. The transparency body insisted that the government must make public, the terms of each concession granted to exploit a natural resource. It said, “Governments ought to disclose the terms and counterparties of all natural resource deals, to allow legislators and citizens to monitor whether the laws and regulations are being followed, and to assess the quality of deals being made on their behalf.” The Open Society Foundation noted that the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s ‘Guide on Resource Revenue Transparency’ and the Natural Resource Charter, consider publication of contracts to be best practice. Further to this, the Foundation said that the fullest possible information that needs to be disclosed to Guyanese relates to the granting of each concession, prequalified companies, successful and unsuccessful bids, and the identity of the beneficial owners. It also recommended that Guyana establishes an independent public agency that has oversight of the rights and the implementation of contracts. It believes that such a body could also make regular and timely public reports on any anticipated and concluded allocation of natural resources licenses. The Foundation in conclusion cautioned, “Citizens can only be confident about the integrity of the resource extraction process if they know about it.”

(Kaieteur News)