Trinidad and Tobago Elected to EITI International Board

Gregory McGuire, chairman of the Trinidad and Tobago Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (TTEITI), has been elected to the EITI International Board. Mr. McGuire, whose selection was ratified at last week’s 9th EITI Global Conference held in Dakar, Senegal, will represent Latin America and the Caribbean. He will serve from 2023-2026.

Commenting on his selection, Mr. McGuire said, “I am deeply honoured to accept the appointment to the board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. I think this (selection) is a result of the innovations Trinidad and Tobago has always promoted within the EITI whether on disclosing environmental impacts such as emissions or pioneering beneficial ownership disclosure.

“We have always seen ourselves as a Caricom champion for EITI working closely with other countries in the region like Suriname, Guyana, Argentina and the Dominican Republic as well as other Latin American countries. We will continue using this platform to promote that spirit of cooperation and two-way exchange of experiences on how best to manage our natural resources.”

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative or EITI is the global gold standard for transparency and accountable management for countries rich in natural resources. Currently, 57 countries participate in the initiative and implementing countries are mandated to independently verify revenue earned from the oil, gas and mining sectors as well as provide a platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue on key issues impacting the sector.

Over the next three years, the EITI will broaden its focus beyond just revenue collection and verification. Its strategic priorities include supporting energy transition, addressing corruption risk, publishing open data, promoting beneficial ownership disclosure, and measuring extractive sector impacts.

After a recent validation assessment, Trinidad and Tobago attained a score of 89 out of 100 for meeting the requirements for implementing the EITI Standard. That tally was the highest score in Latin America and the Caribbean and fourth highest score globally. For the assessment, the EITI Board commended TTEITI’s efforts in disseminating data to citizens through innovative and high-quality publications on extractive sector management, especially in view of challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trinidad and Tobago was also commended for being a pioneer in disclosing beneficial ownership information in Latin America and the Caribbean and beyond. The TTEITI has also pioneered environmental disclosures with the NGC being the first company to disclose granular GHG emissions data through the EITI framework.

Trinidad and Tobago has had representatives on past EITI Boards including TTEITI National Coordinator Sherwin Long and former TTEITI Chairman Victor Hart. Mr. McGuire will serve as an alternate to Mr. Miguel Angel Diaz, the Vice Minister of Mines in the Dominican Republic. The EITI implementing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean include Guyana, Suriname, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Argentina, the Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago.

McGuire, an energy economist, had a distinguished career spanning 24 years in the energy sector. He is now the owner and principal consultant with VSL Consultants Limited, with an emphasis on energy strategy and economics. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Governors of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre and was both a member of the Caricom Economic Commission and a sub-committee chair of the post-covid roadmap to recovery taskforce.

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The TTEITI is committed to sharing information about the extractive sectors and facilitating interviews about our public policy and advocacy work. If you would like to secure an interview, please email our communications team at?[email protected]?or call us at (868) 225 4334 ext. 2553 or 769-1391.