New Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat yesterday met with the Heads of the various agencies under the purview of the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and received a “grim” report.
A release from the Ministry said that in attendance were Permanent Secretary of the MNR, Joslyn McKenzie; Commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, Newell Dennison; Commissioner (Ag) of the Guyana Forestry Commission, Gavin Agard, and General Manager of the Guyana Gold Board, Eondrene Thompson. The meeting, held at the Ministry’s Duke Street Kingston office served to inform the Minister on the operations and current standing of the agencies. “The agencies provided a grim report which points to gross mismanagement of the sector under the previous administration”, the release said.
It added that the Guyana Forestry Commission is presently unable to pay salaries for July and owes millions to the utility companies. Major restructuring is needed to ensure these agencies function more effectively, the release said. The Minister will be meeting with the management team and staff of these agencies shortly.
