Guyanese will be seen as ‘the idiots of the world’ if Exxon contract not changed

Mar 05, 2018 ExxonMobil, Features / Columnists, News

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– Chartered Accountant

Quote: “This obnoxious, objectionable and invasive Petroleum Agreement starts and ends with Exxon’s Esso. Guyanese must not be ensnared by Exxon and our politicians who seem to be compromised in Exxon’s tentacles. Guyanese must be made to speak and act for the Guyanese people. Once we have the agreement renegotiated with Exxon; the other Oil Exploration companies will follow suit…”-Hinds
As long as the Guyana-ExxonMobil contract remains unchanged and in force, this nation’s people will be seen as “the idiots of the Caribbean and the world.”
The agreement is nothing but an abomination; a perpetual shaming of Guyanese alive and dead.
That’s the view of one of the oil agreement’s harshest critics, Chartered Accountant Nigel Hinds.
In a detailed letter to the editor, Hinds stated that the current agreement Guyana has with ExxonMobil is “an absolute disgrace.”

As such, he believes that Guyanese must push for it to be changed.
In his letter, the Chartered Accountant opined that for Guyana’s politicians to behave as if they have the authority to tie and chain the masses of Guyanese people to agreements of extreme exploitation, oppression, abuse and humiliation “is very cruel and void of any virtue.”
“This horrible and revolting Petroleum Agreement has conjured images of blind, bespectacled ants signing off on contracts with global corporations, and thereby, engendering more offensive and ridiculous contracts, which are all very disadvantageous to Guyana. This is no time for sophistry, doublespeak, party politics, showmanship or rhetoric.”
“The contract is an abomination and a heavy millstone on the Guyanese people, future descendants and our ancestors: from the Native Americans, enslaved Africans, and indentured labourers to those who now live off the sweat and bloody sacrifices they made for their family; and our family.”
“This obnoxious, objectionable and invasive Petroleum Agreement starts and ends with Exxon’s Esso. Guyanese must not be ensnared by Exxon and our politicians who seem to be compromised in Exxon’s tentacles. Guyanese must be made to speak and act for the Guyanese people. Once we have the agreement renegotiated with Exxon; the other Oil Exploration companies will follow suit.”
The Chartered Accountant also referred to the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Paris in December 2015.
There, it was noted that of the 23 largest US oil and gas exploration and production companies, Exxon holds almost a third of total reserves of this group and around 41percent of the combined market capitalization. With this in mind, Hinds articulated that the reserves of Exxon certainly now exceed one third of the total reserves of the group – primarily because of the additional oil finds in Guyana during 2016, 2017 and 2018.
“Our politicians are intelligent people and this segway to contract entrapment must be rejected. We have struggled too long; we Guyanese were seen and treated as the pariahs of the Caribbean, rejected at every port with or without our rice bags, some gave up everything in Guyana to go and labour in North America, the United Kingdom and the Caribbean.”
“W e have lost too many lives along the way, to now reach the summit of our El Dorado that our founder leaders envisioned for us; and to just sign away a significant majority of our new found wealth. We must renegotiate the agreement/s that robs the Guyanese people, and in addition, places double locks on the mental chains that trap us; then we are thrown overboard enchained, when our Government shamelessly agrees to pay the contractor over US$460 Million to have our oil resources plundered.”
Hinds opined that the wealth from the oil find should be invested generously across the nation’s small population: amongst youths, public servants, private sector workers and old age pensioners.
“I ask any government official: What difference does it make, whether you have US$10 Million or US$100 Million? The virtue and purpose of living is not to make a few dollars more. Certainly, leaving a positive legacy to Guyanese is worth much, much more.”
“Walter Rodney died almost 38 years ago, and every day his good works are referenced. It is not how long you live or the wealth you have acquired; what matters is how as a citizen and servant leader you have uplifted your people.”
To all Political Parties and Private Sector leaders, Hinds cautioned that this Petroleum agreement is literally burying the hopes and aspirations of Guyanese and their children.
He said that they should immediately seek renegotiation of the petroleum agreement to obtain a 10% Royalty; remove the baseless US$460 Million invoice from the contract with Esso and Company; immediately table all oil contracts and endeavour to make the contracts fair to Guyanese.
He opined that this is far worse “than bones jammed in our throats.”

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