By LCN Business Desk
Nobody disputed that he held the permits. The question was whether they were working.
What is the position he holds?
Convener of civil society in the body that oversees Guyana's extractive transparency reporting.
Dr Ivor English was appointed in November 2025 as Convener of civil society under the Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, a post running a six-year term across two Multi-Stakeholder Group cycles.
The Multi-Stakeholder Group is the tripartite body through which EITI implementation is governed, with government, industry and civil society each represented.
What was the objection?
That the holder of the civil-society seat holds mining permits.
Policy Forum Guyana raised a potential conflict of interest, noting that English holds 17 mining permits.
"The Minister's insistence on controlling civic appointments is concerning, particularly given that GYEITI Reports document widespread irregularities and unlawful practices in Guyana's gold-mining sector."
Source: Policy Forum Guyana, as reported by Kaieteur News, 16 October 2026.
How did the Government answer it?
By arguing the holdings were inactive, not by disputing that they exist.
Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat said the evaluation found no conflict.
"Our evaluation determined that Dr. English presents no conflict of interest relevant to the role as convener of a civic society organisation."
He added that English "holds no active mining property in the extractive sector".
| The defence | |
|---|---|
| What is not disputed | English holds 17 mining permits |
| What the defence asserts | No active mining property in the extractive sector |
| Evidence cited | Cuyuni District 4 blocks, acquired 2014, no activity since |
| Evidence cited | Manaka sand permit, inactive since 2014 |
Source: the same report.
Dormancy is the whole of the argument.
What has happened since?
An application to renew, and a request to take transfer of another licence.
Kaieteur News reports that English has applied to the Environmental Protection Agency to renew sand and loam mining permits, and has requested the transfer of a separate sand mining licence. Payments were made to advance the process.
Does a renewal contradict what the Minister said?
Not on its own, because renewing a permit is not the same act as mining one.
The Minister's words were about active property, and keeping a permit alive establishes nothing about extraction. A holding can be renewed and stay idle, which is an ordinary thing for a permit holder to do.
The transfer request is a different kind of act. Taking transfer of a separate licence is acquisition rather than maintenance, and dormancy does not describe it.
The holdings are being maintained and added to by the person who occupies the civil-society seat, while the case for his occupying it rests on their being idle.
Why does this reach beyond one appointment?
Because the civil-society seat is the part of the EITI structure that cannot be filled by the industry it checks.
Guyana's standing under the EITI standard, and what happens to a country that falls short of it, was examined in Mexico Ordered Monthly Contract Disclosure, which reported Mexico suspended from the standard that measures exactly this.
The capacity of the Guyanese state to audit its own extractive revenues was examined in The Office That Audits Guyana's Oil Money Has No Oil and Gas Division. The same ministry's published figures have been contested before, in The Resource Ministry Says Wales Will Carry 600 MW.
What is not established?
Four things the reporting does not say.
The dates of the applications are not reported. Whether the Environmental Protection Agency has decided them is not reported. What the 17 permits consist of individually is not set out. No response from Dr English appears in the reporting seen by this newspaper.
What Guyana's civil society can say, and the conditions it operates under, were examined in The Right to Speak, Organise and Be Heard.
The entities
* Dr Ivor English is the Convener of civil society under the Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, appointed in November 2025. * The Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GYEITI) is the national implementation of the EITI standard, governed through a Multi-Stakeholder Group. * The Multi-Stakeholder Group is the tripartite body in which government, industry and civil society are each represented. * Policy Forum Guyana is the civil-society body that raised the conflict-of-interest objection. * Vickram Bharrat is Guyana's Minister of Natural Resources, who said the evaluation found no conflict. * The Environmental Protection Agency is the agency to which the renewal and transfer applications were made. * Cuyuni Mining District 4 is where the Minister said blocks were acquired in 2014 with no activity since, alongside a sand permit at Manaka inactive since the same year.
What the title card shows
Every data point on the article's title card, in text.
* 17 permits. The mining permits Policy Forum Guyana noted English holds. Source: Kaieteur News, 16 October 2026. * November 2025. When English was appointed Convener of civil society under GYEITI. Source: Kaieteur News. * 6 years. The term of the position, across two Multi-Stakeholder Group cycles. Source: Kaieteur News. * 2014. The year the Minister cited for the Cuyuni District 4 acquisition and the last activity at Manaka. Source: Minister Vickram Bharrat, via Kaieteur News. * Quotation: "holds no active mining property in the extractive sector." Minister Vickram Bharrat. Source: Kaieteur News, 16 October 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What position does Dr Ivor English hold?
Convener of civil society under the Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, appointed in November 2025, for a six-year term across two Multi-Stakeholder Group cycles.
What was the objection to his appointment?
Policy Forum Guyana raised a potential conflict of interest, noting that he holds 17 mining permits, and said the Minister's insistence on controlling civic appointments is concerning given that GYEITI reports document irregularities in the gold-mining sector.
What did the Government say?
Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat said the evaluation determined English presents no conflict of interest for the role, and that he holds no active mining property in the extractive sector, citing blocks in Cuyuni Mining District 4 acquired in 2014 with no activity since and a sand permit at Manaka inactive since 2014.
What has English applied for?
Kaieteur News reports applications to the Environmental Protection Agency to renew sand and loam mining permits, and a request to transfer a separate sand mining licence, with payments made to advance the process.
Does that contradict the Minister?
Not by itself. Renewing a permit keeps it alive and does not establish mining activity, and the Minister's words were about active mining property. A request to take transfer of a separate licence is acquisition rather than maintenance, which dormancy does not describe.
What is not known?
The dates of the applications, whether the Environmental Protection Agency has decided them, the composition of the 17 permits, and any response from Dr English, none of which appears in the reporting this newspaper has seen.