Govt. must manage citizens’ oil expectations – Symposium Panellist

Jul 09, 2017 News

With hundreds of citizens and dozens of companies queuing up to take a chunk out of the emerging oil and gas sector, it was advised that Government take steps to manage public expectation.
This advice was offered by Vicky McPherson, a Shareholder in the Global Energy & Infrastructure Group and the Africa Practice Group at the international law firm Greenberg Traurig.
McPherson appeared as a panelist at a “Public Corruption, Oil Curse” symposium at the Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown, last week.
She told the attendees that it is important to manage expectations because while oil will impact the entire country, not everyone will get a job from the sector.
“The oil sector is capital-intensive. It is not labour intensive so managing the expectations…is huge because it will control the anger that will result by 2020 (when) no one has a job in the oil and gas sector.”
McPherson posited that whilst the sector will not provide many jobs, the increase in revenue earned from the resources can be used to develop other sectors which will in turn, provide employment for citizens.
She noted, also, that Guyana’s procurement laws should be revised since the increase of projects in other sectors will include Government teaming up with the private sector.
“Revising the Guyanese procurement law is essential to this because you cannot expect Government to do all of the infrastructure development nor can you expect the private sector to do it. So encouraging a Public/Private Partnership (P3) framework – I understand that a draft has already been prepared – is key to everyone benefitting from the oil and gas sector.”
The symposium was organised by the Caribbean Institute of Forensic Accounting (CIFA) in collaboration with the Guyana Oil and Gas Association (GOGA) and the African Business Round Table.
The theme for the symposiums was, “Public Corruption, the Oil Curse and Lessons from Developing Countries”.
Symposium Speakers included Afra Rymond, a Professional Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Managing Director of Raymond and Pierre Limited; Dr. Kennedy Mkutu, an associate professor in International Relations, Peace and Security at USUI- Nairobi, Africa; Eric Williams, Principal Consultant and President of Royal Triangle Energy Solutions Limited (RTESL); Stephen Baker, Senior partner at Baker & Partners, English barrister and Jersey advocate; and Dr. Perry Stanislas, Leader of the Contemporary Issues in Police and Security Leadership and Management Programme run by Community and Criminal Justice Department at De Montfort University, United Kingdom.
These symposiums would come at a time when several concerns are being raised with regards to the management of Guyana’s emerging oil and gas sector and government’s push for production by 2020.

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