President Granger must answer this question

Jun 29, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor;
The United Republican Party (URP) would like to ask the Granger administration if they can tell the Guyanese people what is the contracted percentage that Guyana will derive from the oil proceeds and also from the Guyana Goldfields (GGF) project. This is a most pertinent question after years of PPP secrecy in deals that never turned out to be in the interest of the people of Guyana but rather a few of the PPP cronies. The Guyanese citizens are wary of losing the wealth of our resources to a few greedy politicians, their friends, and their family.
We heard also that the Guyana Goldfields will increase production in the coming years and that the price of gold is going up and set to climb. The URP, on behalf of the Guyanese public, would therefore like to get a working understanding of what is in the deal for them. The GGF is projecting their returns in the short to midterm. Can the Guyana government also project for us how much Guyana is estimated to make over the same period?
We were also told that Exxon Mobile is drilling other wells based on the significant finds of oil sands off Guyana shores. It is obvious that this company’s operation is governed by some kind of a contractual agreement. Is it possible, then, that the Guyanese populace can get some working understanding of how much the country is likely to benefit from this deal? If the investors are able to project a return on their investments, then the government must be able to share with the Guyanese people some kind of an estimated cost and benefit for the sale of our minerals.
Editor, the URP, as a patriotic Guyanese party, wishes to alleviate the embarrassment of the Granger administration that seems to have to be consistently reminded, from the international communities, about their need to practice transparency. The people of Guyana had grown accustomed to the shady, crookish, deals under the PPP and before it the PNC. Last May, the coalition spoke out against those kinds of behaviour and people voted the PPP out of office. The APNU/AFC coalition promised that they would do things differently. Yet, so far it is the same old.
It is disingenuous for the Granger administration to follow in the exact path of those they once vehemently condemned, for the same practices. We are, therefore, asking that this administration release immediately the percentages of the proceeds from these multi-million dollar ventures. After all, the minerals that are being extracted from Guyana cannot be replaced; they are not renewable. It is unfair and may be criminal for a select few from the coalition to continue to benefit from the resources that belong to all of us. Mr. Granger, follow the advice from the international community and tell the Guyanese citizens what the investors already know. Tell us how much you are selling out natural resource for. It is only fair.

Dr. Vishnu Bandhu
URP Leader

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