The United States is to join Canada in helping to fashion new regulations and policies to govern the management of the oil and gas sector in Guyana, according to US Ambassador Brendt Hardt.
Ambassador Hardt’s disclosure, made last Friday at the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association 16th Annual Awards Ceremony and Dinner at the Princess Hotel, came just days after similar commitments were given by his Canadian counterpart David Devine.
US support, which Hardt says will also impact on downstream industries, has already committed Washington to facilitating partnerships with the various American authorities to prepare the Guyana for the sustainable development of its energy sector.
Hardt disclosed that Guyana will benefit from technical assistance from the US Energy Governance Capacity Initiative (EGCI) to support the creation of industry oversight and oil revenue management mechanisms in order to ensure that “oil wealth achieves broad-based economic growth and prosperity”.
Meanwhile, Hardt told the Awards Ceremony that Washington’s commitment to supporting Guyana’s economic growth was linked to already productive partnerships between the US and Guyana private sectors. He cited Atlantic Tele Network, the major shareholder in the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T); Seaboard Corporation, owner of the National Milling Company; Delta Airlines, and the Pizza Hut and Federal Airlines franchises as examples of such partnerships.
And according to Ambassador Hardt the Washington has been supportive of Guyana in putting measures in place to boost local exports which include the USAID Guyana Trade and Investment Support (GTIS) Project which is currently collaborating with local businesses to create new market opportunities in the US for non-traditional agricultural products, wood products and eco-tourism. Hardt said that GTIS was, among other things, utilizing technology to create productive linkages between local farmers and large-scale producers of agricultural commodities and facilitating the transfer of new-age technology including drip irrigation and greenhouse farming to the local agricultural sector. An important goal of these pursuits, Hardt said, was to enable local farmers to export high quality fruit and vegetables and fish to the Caribbean and the US.
The US agenda for supporting the Guyana economy, according to Hardt includes efforts to attract high end visitors from the United States to Guyana to enjoy the diversity of the country’s wildlife including bird-watching and sport fishing. Hart said that the United States government is also supportive of efforts to sustainably manage the country’s rainforests. The objective, he said, was to help Guyana develop a more comprehensive Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system, create a national forest inventory and develop other specialized mechanisms for registering carbon capture in order to meet REDD+ targets. Hardt said the anticipated development of a viable hydrocarbon industry was also on the US support agenda for Guyana
Linked to US support for the strengthening of the Guyana economy are concerns that supportive measures should be put in place to shore up national security. Towards this end Ambassador Hardt disclosed that Washington will provide the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) with riverain patrol vessels and communication equipment while the Guyana Police Force is to receive anti-corruption training and ICT technology and benefit from collaborative work in fingerprint information. Further support will also be provided for the local justice system to help address crime-related issues. Hardt said that consultations have already been held with local stakeholders on strengthening the capacity of the justice system to undertake money-laundering prosecutions.
Washington’s support for strengthening Guyana’s security infrastructure is linked to its wider support for Caribbean security under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) launched by President Barak Obama in Port-of-Spain in 2009.
The core objectives of the CBSI are the reduction in the trafficking of illicit drugs, improving public safety and promoting social justice. “We can only succeed in this task by working closely together and adopting a comprehensive approach to strengthening maritime interdiction capabilities, professionalizing law enforcement agencies and limiting the appeal of ‘fast money’ by providing new opportunities for at-risk youths,” Hardt said.
The ambassador said Washington has already provided US$139 million over the first two years of the programme.
And Hardt has identified public health as being another of the key areas in which Guyana can anticipate further United States support. Guyana’s national HIV/AIDS testing and prevention programme has already benefited from an infusion of US$145 million from the United States, part of which has been allocated to enhancing the capacities of the Ministry of Health’s laboratories and the management of general health services country-wide.
And according to the Ambassador Washington remains keen to continue to forge a partnership with Guyana for democracy and governance. He complimented Guyana for setting ‘worthy standards’ for the conduct of peaceful elections this year and declared that his government stands ready to work with the newly elected Guyanese government, with Gecom and civil society groups especially in support of local government elections.
