Adams' double standards on EPA record

Jaideo Jairam

October 13, 2026·2 min read

Thread

Oct 5, 2026KW

Exxon needs Guyana more than Guyana needs itDr. Vincent Adams

Oct 13, 2026GT

Adams' double standards on EPA record

Jaideo Jairam

Dear Editor,

I am compelled to ask “Who in the world is former EPA Head Dr Vincent Adams, and what in the world is he saying?’ I was livid when I flagged his latest concoction in the press, where he claimed that the “Govt. breached environmental law with Wales gas project” (Oct 11, 2026)

I must remind Guyanese that Dr Adams’s own air is murky, and so too are his pronouncements. While he postures as an authentic ‘champion of environmental law’ and ‘regulatory purity’, the public needs to be instructionally reminded of his actual dismal track record. No question about it – His tenure as Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under the APNU+AFC coalition administration was marked by the very political compromises, administrative failures, and procedural breaches he now seeks to condemn, as his assumptions convey the impression, that Mr Khemraj (and by extension, the PPP,) is perpetuating what used to be Adams’ norms.

Let me illustrate a few of these well-documented failures, starting with financial and procurement breaches and irregularities. We all recall that under his watch, established state procurement and financial procedures were severely compromised. Clandestine ways of doings things were the norm. Most notably, we recall how internal audits highlight that over US$47,000 of the EPA’s state funds was improperly approved and surreptitiously diverted to cover the private medical expenses of an entity official.^[1] This ghost remains totally ensconced.

Furthermore, there was that heinous complicity during the 2020 election crisis. Dr Adams still serves as a high-ranking executive member of the Alliance For Change (AFC), and critics and citizens well remember his complete failure to condemn documented attempts by coalition officials to derail the democratic process during the tense, five-month post-election standoff in 2020.^[2] This overt political alignment heavily and permanently compromised his ‘claimed objectivity’ as an independent public servant. He now is most caustic, seeking to condemn what he cannot prove, thinking that maybe the public has forgotten his duplicity.

We must necessarily also examine his environmental double standards. Dr Adams has morphed into a dis-liker of the PPP Government. He is now ‘weaponising environmental laws’ only after losing his state apparatus position. During his actual leadership under the APNU+AFC administration, he repeatedly failed to aggressively enforce statutory rules or challenge omissions occurring under his own government. His environmental “crusade” only materialised after his contract was terminated in late 2020. Pathetic!

Finally, there was a stark failure to build up the agency capacity, but yet he is frequently criticising the current EPA’s technical competence. In fact, Dr Adams left the agency virtually unchanged. He failed to legally structure or expand the EPA’s human and technical capacity, leaving it entirely dependent on foreign interventions to audit complex offshore operations instead of establishing true local institutional independence.

Therefore, I urge the public to view Dr Adams’ current commentary not as objective technical analysis, but as highly politicised rhetoric. It is designed to distract from his own historical failures and administrative shortcomings. He is part of a cabal, whose members, after failing, are now condemning.

Yours truly,
Jaideo Jairam

References

Public Accounts Committee rules EPA breached FMA Act - Stabroek News — www.stabroeknews.com ↩
US human rights report cites refusal of APNU+AFC to accept election result - Stabroek News — www.stabroeknews.com ↩

An uncaring betrayal: Dr. Vincent Adams says as EPA exempts hazardous gas plant from impact study - Kaieteur News

kaieteurnewsonline.com · 2023-04-03

Kaieteur News – Former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams during an Alliance For Change (AFC) press conference on Friday told reporters that the regulator has ‘uncaringly’ betrayed the people whose lives it should be protecting, as it has moved to exempt a hazardous gas plant to generate electricity from a detailed impact study. ... Dr. Adams, a Petroleum Engineer with over 40 years of experience in the sector was at the time offering comments on the statements made by the Executive Director of the EPA, Kemraj Parsram that the regulator’s role is not merely to decide whether impact studies are required, but to implement provisions into permits to form part of regulating the project. ... the EPA’s ... to waive the ... during a Public ... by the Environmental Assessment Board (EAB ... on March 22, 2023 explained, “The role of the EPA is not just to say no ... is required or EIA is required. ... fact, it is the permitting, it’s the regulating of that ... otherwise the EPA should require ... or every single ... So we have to be sensible and that is what the EPA is doing, (acting) sensible based on scientific information ... Dr. Adams on the other hand said he has never heard a statement more “dumbfounding”. He argued that an EIA must be conducted for the possible hazards to be identified, which can then be regulated by the Agency through an Environmental Permit. The former head of the EPA told reporters, “Now how in heaven’s name could you even come up with the provisions without an EIA? Again, I’ve said it over and over and many have said it, the EIA is the bible of these types of major projects. It identifies hazards by applying scientific data and information and studies to identify hazards.” As such, he argued that without an EIA, the EPA has failed to highlight the hazards “so for him to come and say well our role is not to only determine whether you need an EIA or not but implement provisions, you cannot have provisions in these major projects without an EIA.” According to Dr. Adams, the statements from the EPA boss were “disrespectful, dismissive, arrogant, flippant and it’s an uncaring betrayal in the interests of the people who the EPA is supposed to be protecting.” ... Two appeals were made to the EAB regarding the decision to exempt the gas-fired power plant from an EIA. The citizens already had an opportunity to cite their concerns to the Board which is expected to hand down its decision shortly- to uphold the Agency’s decision or to order the study. The plant is a component of the Wales Gas-to-Energy project that is presently pegged at US$2.1 billion. The other aspects include the pipeline to transport the resource and a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility that will treat and separate the elements. The Government of Guyana has said the project will cut the cost of electricity by 50 percent but in the absence of updated feasibility studies, activists fear that the project may end up a white elephant. Importantly, given the dangers associated with gas, citizens have publicly stated their disapproval of the project being exempted from a detailed EIA. Two citizens, Attorney-at-Law Elizabeth Deane-Hughes and environmental activist, Vanda Radzik in their letter of appeal to the EAB, dated February 5, 2023 said the project can cause serious impacts to lives and livelihoods, insisted that a sound EIA must inform the decision of the EPA to grant a Permit for the power plant. Fourteen other Guyanese also attached their signatures to the objection letter addressed to the EAB. “Gas fired plants and NGL facilities and the pipelines that feed them are notoriously dangerous. People’s lives, livelihoods and lands are at risk. Toxic gases, chemicals and hazardous wastes are generated along with substantial emissions, flarings etc. that pollute the environment and affect the health of humans,” the citizens pointed out.

Public Accounts Committee rules EPA breached FMA Act - Stabroek News

www.stabroeknews.com · 2021-01-20

By Stabroek News January 20, 2021 The Public Accounts Committee on Monday found the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guilty of breaching the Fiscal Management and Accountability (FMA) Act in 2016 after it retained $33.2 million rather than return it to the Consolidated Fund, as it sought to utilise the sum to fund the construction of its headquarters in Ganges Street. Defending the agency’s action, Permanent Secretary of the Office of the President (previously referred to as the Ministry of Presidency) Abena Moore, under whose purview the agency falls, told the committee that ... was given by the Finance Secretary at the Ministry of Finance for ... multi-year project to be rolled over. Under grilling from ... of the committee ... the sum to be rolled over ... , and was ... . However, it was later revealed that ... Finance Secretary at the time approved the rolling over of the ... , but not the aforementioned sum. ... The Auditor General’s office clarified that approval was given for the multi-year project and that the EPA erred in failing to return the unspent funds. Moore acknowledged that while it was her responsibility as the accounting officer to return all unspent money to the Consolidated Fund, she had failed to do so. According to the Auditor General 2016 Report, the subvention agency was awarded $47 million and this was released to Environmental Protection Agency for design and construction of a building, as well as the purchasing of global positioning systems, a noise meter, a radiation monitoring system, cameras, chairs, a water dispenser, a soil analyser, air conditioning units and a photocopier, from the 2016 budget. During the audit it was revealed that amounts totaling $13.725 million were expended. The difference of $33.275 million was retained by the Agency and not refunded to the Consolidated Fund as required. ... However, Ministry of Natural Resources Permanent Secretary, Joslyn McKenzie, whose ministry was responsible for the agency prior to July 2016, told the committee the EPA building was budgeted for in the 2016 budget and monies allocated catered for initial payments, design, and supervision. He explained that in 2017 when the construction was funded by the Ministry of Finance, the sum withheld from the Consolidated Fund was factored into the total cost of the construction.

US human rights report cites refusal of APNU+AFC to accept election result - Stabroek News

www.stabroeknews.com · 2021-04-01

By Stabroek News April 1, 2021 The refusal of the APNU+AFC government to accept defeat in the March 2, 2020 elections, the arrest of Opposition Chief Whip Christopher Jones and the killing of a man by the police last year were some of the issues highlighted in the US State Department’s 2020 Country Report on Human Rights Practices here. In looking at the country’s elections and political participation, the report pointed to the December 2018 successful no-confidence motion against the coalition government which mandated that national elections be held by March of the following year. “Several rounds of litigation initiated by the coalition government and opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) delayed the elections until March 2, 2020,” the report said. The report then referenced APNU+AFC’s refusal to accept the elections result that showed their loss and which created a five-month post-elections impasse, and included a national recount, refusal to accept the results of the recount, and litigation at the Caribbean Court of Justice – the country’s court of final instance. “The PPP/C won by a margin of 15,000 votes against the APNU+AFC coalition, and Mohamed Irfaan Ali of the PPP/C was installed as president on August 2. The general elections resulted in the return of the PPP/C to government after a five-year hiatus from a previous 23-year administration. International observers concluded the March 2 national and regional elections were free and fair,” the report declared.