The Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s (GYEITI) attention has been drawn to an online article published by Kaieteur News Online captioned “Guyana scores low performance on control of corruption, regulatory quality and accountability” citing GYEITI’s 2021 EITI Report that was published on December 29, 2023. The report, which covers payment and contextual activities in mining, oil and gas, fisheries, and forestry, fulfills the country’s ongoing commitment to implement the EITI Standard, which aims at improving transparency in Guyana’s extractive sector.
EITI Standard sets guidelines to assess the resource value chain for mining and oil and gas. Notwithstanding, Guyana, which signed on to implement the EITI principles in 2017, agreed to include fisheries and forestry under its EITI scope to strengthen transparency and accountability over key revenue-generating sources in the economy.
GYEITI’s 2021 report includes data from World Governance Indicators (GWI), which have been taken out of context by Kaieteur News. GWI and EITI have separate and incomparable indicators. Firstly, and more importantly, GWI is ‘a perception survey of a country’s business, households, and citizens. Conversely, the EITI indicators are empirical and/or fact-based. Secondly, GWI indicators are country-wide, whereas the EITI evaluates the resource value chain for the country’s mining and oil and gas sectors.
The 2021 EITI report for Guyana highlights significant improvements in Guyana’s extractive sector, which includes governance, oversight, revenue mobilization, expansion of production, employment, and other sector activities that the article failed to capture. By highlighting a perception survey, which was included to show a contrast between perception and reality, the article has missed the opportunity to provide its readers with key data on the increasing contribution of the extractive sector to Guyana’s economy.
