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A tangled web woven by the signature bonus
Dear Editor,
The sweetheart deal of some US$18 million that the APNU/AFC Government signed and collected from the oil giant, ExxonMobil last year is mind boggling and causes one to raise an eyebrow. For certainty, this bonus is the property of all the people in Guyana and not the property of the APNU/AFC Government.
Kaieteur News has done an excellent job when they were on the forefront in highlighting the reality of what ExxonMobil has done to other countries where they operate. I am of the view that large multinational companies like ExxonMobil would love to be in control of any Government.
Guyanese need to wake up and let go of their political affiliations and ideologies. They should no longer just blindly believe and support any Government in their wrongdoings. Therefore, we should be Guyanese first then party supporters.
Less than three percent of the Guyanese citizens see justice as justice, while 97% of them only see justice when their political parties are hurt since they share some close affiliation with that party.
The Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, misled the people of Guyana when he told Kaieteur News on November 23, 2017 that there was no advance payment made to the Government of Guyana by United States oil giant, ExxonMobil, when in fact he had full knowledge about it. To cover this up his justification in his response was ludicrous when he told the media that he is not obligated to give info press didn’t ask for.
It was after Stabroek News published a letter about the account that was requested to be opened by The Ministry of Finance for the ‘signing bonus’, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman confirmed that they have received this bonus a year ago. To make matters worse in an almost dictatorial way, he said that he was not ashamed and is happy that everything is now in the public. Why was it a secret for an entire year?
Even Minister of State, Joseph Harmon sidetracked the issue stating that the contract will be made public at a later date.
With numerous contradictory statements made by these Government Ministers, one is forced to become suspicious. The media played a major role by putting pressure on the APNU/AFC government to clear the many doubts of the people.
However, President David Granger claimed full responsibility for the secrecy surrounding the US $18 million signing bonus, hiding behind presidential immunity, citing ‘national security implications’ as the main reason for the secrecy. He also noted that some members of the Cabinet may have been unaware of the existence of the signing bonus. I am completely baffled when Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge, admitted that he advised President not to alert the nation of the signing bonus.
Mr. Greenidge then said that the entire Cabinet (all the ministers) approved the special account to receive the money and they knew it was secured. A completely different story from what the President stated. Who should we believe?
Everyone, excluding the PPP supporters, knows and believes that the PPP government was the most corrupt and unscrupulous one.
Mr. Editor, the APNU/AFC Government campaigned to get rid of all the wrongdoings and corrupt practices of the PPP regime, but it appears as though the APNU/AFC is getting worse than the PPP.
In my opinion, I think the President should ask all the Ministers who were untruthful to the people of this country to resign or dismiss them. After that, he should step down as he was also untruthful. I recalled watching several campaign ads of the APNU/AFC in April/May 2015 that concluded with; “PPP/C, you lie.” Are they any different?
Now, who are the liars?
Ashan Bacchus
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