Since the establishment of the 12th parliament, the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources, has only met once and the purpose for that meeting was to appoint its Chairman and Vice Chairman. Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat chairs the committee, while Opposition Member Dawn Hastings-Williams functions as the Vice Chair.
Other members are Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, Minister within the Ministry of Local Government Anand Persaud and Members of Parliament Fizal Jaffarally, Lee Williams for the government’s side, while Members of Parliament Cathy Hughes, Deonarine Ramsaroop, and Vincent Henry sit on the Opposition side. The failure of the committee to meet has raised questions especially as the oil and gas sector continues to rapidly expand. Minister and Chair of the Committee, Bharrat last week said he was out of the country and not could not speak on the absence of committee meetings. He has promised to speak to this newspaper upon his return this week.
