The Office of Climate Change (OCC), which falls under the purview of the Ministry of the Presidency, this morning, hosted its third and final workshop to gather feedback from key stakeholders on the proposed Country Work Programme, according to the Ministry of the Presidency (MotP).
The one-day Elaboration of the Country Work Programme for Engagement with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Validation Workshop saw the participation of stakeholders from over 20 government and non-governmental organisations at the Herdmanston Lodge Hotel, Anira Street, Georgetown.
The workshop’s long-term goal is to access funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF). Once the feedback has been received, the finalised proposed Country Work Programme will be submitted to the National Designated Authority (NDA), who is the Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon, for approval. With Minister Harmon’s approval, the proposal can then be submitted to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to be reviewed, and hopefully approved, for funding, the MotP said.
Head of the Office of Climate Change, Ms. Janelle Christian, who has been spearheading the two-year effort to ensure Guyana’s eligibility for funding, assured the participants that Guyana is making significant strides in the climate change arena although it has taken some time.
“Many times we are hard on ourselves with respect to the pace at which we go to address the challenges that we face as a nation, but we are proud to say that for the [Caribbean Community] CARICOM countries, Guyana was the first to have been approved by the GCF for readiness preparation and support of the [National Designated Authority] NDA,” she said.
Ms. Christian urged the stakeholders to be forthcoming with their feedback, so as to ensure that a final programme, which covers the interest of all of Guyana’s sectors, can be fully developed.
Head of the Project Management Office (PMO) within the Ministry of the Presidency, Dr. Marlon Bristol said that the finalisation and approval of the proposed Country Work Programme is a crucial step in achieving President David Granger’s ‘Green’ State vision for Guyana.
Participants of the validation workshop commented on the ways the workshop helps to clarify areas where their respective organisations can streamline efforts in order to achieve GCF funding approval and, ultimately, the establishment of the ‘Green’ State, the MotP said.
The OCC held two workshops prior to this one. The first, held in September of 2017, taught GCF operational modalities and requirements in order to build capacity in support of the NDA. The second, held in October 2017, identified stakeholder priorities, which laid the foundation for the draft country work programme being presented at this third and final workshop.
