The Board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) has lifted Guyana’s suspension from the organisation.
The EITI Board had temporarily suspended Guyana on February 1, 2023 for failing to publish its 2020 report.
But it was noted that in accordance with the EITI Standard, it was agreed that the suspension would be lifted if the EITI Board is satisfied that the outstanding report was published within six months of the deadline.
The Secretariat has since confirmed that Guyana published its 2020 EITI Report on June 30, 2023, thus, the condition for lifting the suspension has been met.
In a statement on this development, the government said it remains confident that all systems will remain in place to ensure that Guyana is not placed in a similar position in the future.
It was reported that Guyana was unable to submit its 2020 report on transparency and accountability in the local extractive industry by the December 31, 2022 deadline.
President Dr Irfaan Ali had contended that the non-submission of the report was unacceptable.
The EITI is an international body that requires implementing countries to publish comprehensive reports which include the full disclosure of Government revenues from the extractive sector, as well as the disclosure of all material payments made to the Government by companies operating in the oil, gas, and mining sectors.
Guyana’s first report was submitted to the International Secretariat on April 25, 2019. Membership in the EITI means that Guyana will have to adhere to the 12 principles of the EITI standards voluntarily.
These 12 principles include encouraging corporate social responsibility, sharing of information, revealing beneficial ownership and promoting revenue transparency. Failure to do so could be met by suspension from the EITI. Guyana’s next validation commences on April 1, 2024.
The EITI had previously allocated Guyana a score of 52 for implementing the 2019 standard, commending Guyana for the strides taken to make information available and consult with stakeholders, while also providing recommendations to further strengthen the system.
