Dear Editor,
I am in support of OGGN (Oil and Gas Governance Network) leader Mike Persaud’s call that Parliament should review major projects pertaining to Guyana’s natural resources to prevent giveaways, such as the current oil contracts signed by a Minister in the previous PNC Government defeated in a no-confidence motion and defeated in the subsequent general election of 2020. Mike, a Guyanese patriot and an indefatigable fighter for the restoration and preservation of democracy, lives and breathes Guyana in his heart although he lives abroad. His idea of parliamentary review makes very good sense for governance, and the Government should draft legislation to prevent the giveaway of natural resources such as oil, gold, bauxite, timber, manganese, etc. The PPP blames the PNC for the oil giveaway through a bad contract signed in 2016. The PPP said it was not consulted and everything was done in secret. If that is wrong under the PNC, the PPP would want to prevent that from happening again. So the PPP should have no problem with parliamentary review of any major deal involving billions of dollars, and should support full disclosure to the public. Guyana’s wealth belongs to the People.
Right now, ExxonMobil Guyana is “participating in a series of engagements across the coastal regions of Guyana to gather comments and questions that will determine the scope of the environmental impact assessment for the gas to energy project.” The problem is the PPP Govern-ment has not released any of the studies that were done, and they have not provided any more details on this project that would gobble up trillions of Guyana dollars. The VP said “it’s a no brainer.” The recent picture of a gas fire burning in Mexico’s waters should send shivers up your spines, and cause us to be more vigilant about the Gas to Shore project. Wake up people! Guyana got the worst oil contract ever signed by a Government. How do we make sure the Gas to Shore agreement is not a sell out too? The Govern-ment has shown only weakness so far in dealing with Exxon doing excessive flaring, and acting as an “Exxon Parrot,” doing everything Exxon wants. Do you trust the crop of politicians we have now? Stand up for Guyana! The PPP Govern-ment has reneged on its election promise to renegotiate the oil contract. That’s a promise made, promise not kept. They milked the Global Witness report on the campaign trail that Guyana stands to lose about US$55 billion because of the PNC’s wickedness. Once they got in they are talking now about the “four corners of a contract” and acting as the PR spokesman for Exxon. I say the Government must end all secrecy, lay open all the details of the Gas to Shore project, share all details with and involve the legitimate parliamentary opposition, and move forward with the utmost transparency and accountability.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jerry Jailall
