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An affront to our sovereignty

Feb 06, 2018 Peeping Tom

During the 2015 election campaign, a Toshao banned President Donald Ramotar from entering his village. It was an unheard of development. Never before in the history of Guyana was a sitting President debarred from visiting an area in the country over which he holds sole executive authority.
The act of debarring the President was part of the then opposition’s wickedness. There is no way in which any court would uphold a Toshao’s right to prevent a President from visiting any area in Guyana. Full executive authority is vested in the President under the Constitution and no law can be in abrogation of the Constitution.
The same Constitution provides that sovereignty resides with the people through their elected representatives. The Minister of Natural Resources holds delegated executive authority. There is a company called ExxonMobil which has investor rights to blocks offshore Guyana. These rights do not surrender Guyana’s sovereignty over the area. Guyana retains sovereignty over this area.
The subject Minister is required to exercise ministerial responsibility over the petroleum sector, including of the blocks held by Exxon. Yet, under the contract signed with Exxon, the Minister has to give Exxon seven days notification that he wants to visit and area which forms part of the marine territory of Guyana.
The Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) at Article 9 provides that the Minister must give ExxonMobil seven days’ notice before his visit. He is also expected to carry out such a visit at his own expense. In other words, Exxon has to be told before of the Minister’s planned visit and the cost of transport has to be borne by the Minister
Article 9 (e) of the PSA states: “The Minister, through duly appointed representatives, upon providing the contractor with at least seven days’ notice, shall be entitled to observe the petroleum operations conducted by the contractor at his sole cost and expense and at all reasonable times to inspect all assets, records and data kept by the Contractor relating to such petroleum operations.
In the exercise of such rights under this paragraph, the Minister shall not unduly interfere with the Contractor’s petroleum operations under this agreement.”
Such a clause is an insult to Government’s exercise of sovereignty. One can understand that Exxon does not wish its oil rig to become a tourist attraction. It does not want people turning up unannounced to see its rig and the operations. This is understandable and it is for the company and the government to jointly repel such attempts.
Guyanese love attractions. At one time, a mall in Guyana put in an escalator. It was such a novelty to ordinary Guyanese that droves upon droves of persons, some from out of town, would trek down to the mall each day to use and see the escalator. So one can understand Exxon Mobil not wanting its rigs to become sightseeing attractions.
But when it comes to a Minister, there is no need for such a stipulation. The Minister of Natural Resources is the subject Minister for the oil industry. He has oversight over the sector. He has to ensure that government’s interests are protected. He is not any and everybody. He is no tourist. His representatives have lawful obligations to ensure that Exxon is operating within the confines of the law and the very agreement which it has signed with the government. There should be no restriction on the Minister paying a surprise visit to the rigs.
It is an affront to Guyana’s sovereignty that Exxon would include such a clause in this agreement. It is an insult to the government and the people of Guyana. But even sadder is the fact that the government of Guyana would have endorsed such an offensive clause.

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