Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday said that under a PPP Government, the Energy Department would be abolished.
This new office, housed in the Ministry of the Presidency and headed by Dr. Mark Bynoe, was established last year by the APNU+AFC Government.
During an interview on 94.1 Boom FM with radio personality, Stan Gouveia, Jagdeo categorically stated that he does not agree with the operations of the Energy Department. He emphasised that a president has no business dealing with the oil sector at a technical level.
The PPP General Secretary said, “That should be handled by the technical people. We want to build a Guyanese bureaucracy of 1,000 strong of our brightest people from all over the country…. and 1,000 of them with the best skills to manage this industry…they will go on scholarships and so forth.”
Furthermore, the Energy Department is not the only oil related matter that will be subject to a drastic change under a PPP Government. Jagdeo said that there are also plans for the Natural Resource Fund as he does not agree with the current model.
In this regard he said, “We want to change the model because the Finance Minister is responsible through Central bank for the Fund and he appoints key committees that will be in charge of it such as the Macroeconomic and Investment committees.”
With such a structure in place that sees the Finance Minister having so much influence, Jagdeo believes that the Fund will end up being just another slush fund for the Government. That is not going to happen under the PPP, he said.
