The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) on Friday handed over the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan for Guyana to Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips.
Director-General of the CDC, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig, who presented the plan, noted that the work on the finished plan was months in the making and involved the input of many key stakeholders including the Maritime Administrative Department (MARAD), Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Energy, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the Civil Defence Commission (CDC).
He further posited that with Guyana’s oil and gas sector coming on stream, the need was highlighted for an oil spill response mechanism that will protect Guyana’s land and sea resources should the need arise.
After receiving the Plan, Prime Minister Phillips said he was very pleased with such a strategy that will ably assist the Government’s programme of disaster preparedness in the sector. He expressed gratitude to the CDC for the work done and singled out Ms. Anita Wilson-Layne for her coordination of the stakeholders and compilation of the comprehensive Plan.
He further assured Guyanese that with such a Plan that commits the efforts of multi-sectoral agencies, our preparedness and response will be to the benefit of all.
The National Emergency Oil Spill Plan was crafted with valuable inputs from the Guyana Marine Conservation Society, Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission, the Ministry of Legal Affairs, Shipping Association of Guyana, ExxonMobil, Tullow, Guyoil, Repsol, Shell, GAICO Construction and other stakeholders.
The CDC lauded the efforts of the members of the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan working group for their expertise and input into the finished Plan. These include: Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig, Captain Salim October and Ms. Anita Wilson-Layne from CDC; Capt. John Flores and Mr. Joel Hinds of MARAD, Ms. Thandiwe Benn of GEA; Lt. (CG) Roul Williams, Lt. (CG) Luther Singh both of the GDF; Ms. Aminah Damon-McPherson, Ms. Melinda Franklin, Mr. Michael Harding all of the EPA, Ms. Marissa Foster of the Department of Energy and Mr. Paul Williams from the GGMC.
