A growing coalition of international and local civil society organisations is calling for the restoration of an independent and rules-based process governing Guyana’s participation in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
At the centre of the controversy is what civil society groups describe as interference by the Government of Guyana in the selection of civil society representatives to the governing Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) of the Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GYEITI).
While the dispute may appear procedural, civil society organisations warn that the implications extend far beyond the administrative process.
Independent oversight through the MSG is a core requirement of the global EITI Standard, which is designed to ensure transparency and accountability in countries with significant oil, gas and mining industries. Groups involved in the campaign say weakening the independence of the civil society constituency risks undermining mechanisms intended to monitor Guyana’s rapidly expanding extractive sectors.
The issue comes at a time when Guyana is experiencing a major economic transformation driven by oil production.
According to civil society advocates, public discussions often portray oil revenues as a sudden “windfall” similar to winning a lottery. However, they argue that this narrative overlooks the long-term economic realities of extractive industries and the contractual arrangements that govern them.
Under current agreements, they say, international oil companies receive the majority of the value extracted while Guyana retains a smaller share of profits.
Civil society advocates warn that if natural resources are sold under such conditions without strong oversight, transparency and long-term fiscal planning, the outcome could be the depletion of national assets rather than sustainable prosperity.
They argue that future generations could inherit significant public debt and depleted natural resources without benefiting fully from the wealth those resources were expected to generate.
The concerns are part of what observers describe as a broader governance challenge affecting the management of the country’s natural resources.
According to the coalition, issues have been raised regarding opacity in the approval of extractive contracts, delays in parliamentary financial oversight and increasing politicisation of institutions responsible for natural resource governance.
Against this backdrop, Policy Forum Guyana (PFG), working in collaboration with the Resource Justice Network, has launched an international signature campaign calling for the restoration of a legitimate GYEITI process in full compliance with the EITI Standard.
The campaign has attracted support from a wide range of transparency, anti-corruption, environmental justice and human rights organisations across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Among the organisations endorsing the call are the Guyana Human Rights Association, Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc, the Guyana Workers Union, the Guyanese Organization of Indigenous Peoples, as well as several international advocacy groups including the Integrated Social Development Centre and CartoCrítica.
The coalition says the wide range of international endorsements demonstrates that the dispute surrounding GYEITI is not simply a domestic administrative issue but a test of whether global transparency standards can withstand political interference.
According to the groups, the controversy highlights a deeper structural concern that Guyana still lacks a comprehensive natural resources policy grounded in intergenerational equity, fiscal prudence and the preservation of national wealth.
They argue that ensuring transparency and genuine stakeholder participation in the management of Guyana’s natural resources is not merely a technical requirement of the EITI Standard but is essential for safeguarding the country’s long-term development and ensuring that the benefits of resource extraction are shared fairly among present and future generations.
Support for the campaign has come from transparency, anti-corruption, environmental justice, and human rights organisations across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, including:
- Albanian Centre for Development and Integration
- Asia Pacific Transition Mineral Accountability Working Group
- The Association for the Promotion of Rights and Development – Senegal (ASPRODDEL – L’Association pour la Promotion des Droits et du Développement)
- AGAGES Management Consultants (AGAGES – Agir pour Garantir la Gouvernance Économique et Sociale)
- CartoCrítica, Mexico
- Centre for Transparency Advocacy / Koyenum Immalah Foundation
- Centro de Integridade Pública (Mozambique)
- CRADEC (Centre Régional Africain pour le Développement Endogène et Communautaire)
- Derecho Ambiente y Recursos Naturales – DAR (Peru)
- Dynamique Mondiale des Jeunes (DMJ)
- East Coast Clean Up Committee
- Espace de Solidarité et de Coopération de l’Oriental (Morocco)
- Fundación Ciudadanía y Desarrollo (Transparency International Ecuador)
- Guyana Human Rights Association
- Guyana Workers Union
- Guyanese Organization of Indigenous Peoples (GOIP)
- Integrated Social Development Centre – ISODEC (Ghana)
- Jamaa Resource Initiatives (Kenya)
- Millennium Sistas T&T
- “Mirror of Khovd” NGO – Mongolia
- Nida’a Organization for Human Development (Yemen)
- Organisation Tchadienne Anti-Corruption (OTAC)
- Projekta, Suriname
- ROTAB (Niger)
- Steps Without Borders (Mongolia)
- The Future We Need, Goa – India
- The Greenheart Movement
- Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc (TIGI)
