SOVEREIGNTY AT STAKE

Aug 12, 2017 Editorial, Features / Columnists

U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans, “to put America first” and “to make America great again” show his commitment to his country’s interests. One wonders whether our politicians are inclined to put Guyana’s interests first.
We suspect that no one in the administration can honestly and definitively say yes to this question. Today, with the way things are shaping up, it seems that there is hardly any change of direction by those in authority, who clearly have not been forthright with the electorate on a number of issues.
Since taking office two years ago, the government has appointed more than a dozen Commissions of Inquiry (COI), but the citizens still feel as though they are being kept in the dark. The people are told to trust the government, which is exactly what they were told by the Jagdeo/Ramotar regime. Knowing how the last administration abused power, would anyone want to risk trusting this government wholeheartedly?
The last administration spent billions of dollars of the taxpayers’ money on the Skeldon Sugar Factory, the Berbice Bridge, the Marriott Hotel and the Amaila Falls hydro project, but has never made the contracts public. It fooled the people in any way it could.
Today, an unsettling scenario is being played out with the ExxonMobil contract and several others. The APNU+AFC coalition had campaigned on honesty, transparency and accountability, but is not exhibiting commitment to any of these traits. The fact that the ExxonMobil contract is being kept under wraps has exposed a less than forthright approach.
We have heard that releasing the ExxonMobil contract to the public could jeopardize Guyana’s chances of earning oil revenue, because Exxon could pack-up and leave. This is sheer nonsense. The government should know that it cannot fool all the people all the time.
The secrecy surrounding the ExxonMobil contract is mindboggling. For many, the answer lies in one of the world’s largest business magazines, The Economist, which described the Guyana government as “far from strong” and stated that “it will take better politicians to resist the corrosive power of petrodollars.”
The Government’s refusal to release the contract with ExxonMobil to the public, has led many to believe that it has not made the best possible arrangement with Exxon, by putting the nation’s interests first. It also appears that it has given Exxon free rein on our oil resources.
During the past month, we have published several articles highlighting the environmental destruction caused by Exxon in several countries around the world, including those in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.
We will not elaborate further, except to say that ExxonMobil has made no financial commitment to deal with possible oil spills or to compensate fishermen and others who may be affected as a result of an impending oil spill, yet it was granted an unconditional Environmental Permit by the government to continue its operations.
This means that in the event of an oil spill occurring that could cause environment damage to neighbouring countries and to our environment, Guyana would have to bear the full cost for the cleaning operations.
The government should be forewarned that ExxonMobil is known to be associated with some of the world’s most horrific oil spills, as was the case 28 years ago when the Exxon Valdez oil tanker hit a reef in Alaska and spilled more than 11 million gallons of crude oil into the sea. According to specialists, the coastal ecosystem in the area has been permanently damaged. Recently, Exxon Mobil was fined US$20 million in civil penalty for releasing millions of pounds of air pollutants from its Baytown oil refinery in Texas over the course of eight years.
Simply put, the carte blanche given to ExxonMobil could jeopardize our sovereignty.

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