Feeble attempts made by Govt. to defend ExxonMobil contract

Feeble attempts made by Govt. to defend ExxonMobil contract – Jagdeo

Mar 09, 2018 ExxonMobil, Features / Columnists, News

Stating that government is fully responsible for the poorly-negotiated contract with ExxonMobil and its partners, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday highlighted the feeble attempts being made to defend the contract which has been roundly criticized by many.
Speaking at his weekly press conference, Jagdeo pointed to the recent comments by Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin who according to observers, belittled the gold sector’s contribution to the country while seeking to compare revenue earnings from oil.
“Our Government did not do a good job at representing us. We are very disappointed with the poor quality of the negotiations that they adopted. We have since seen some feeble attempts to defend the contract; the latest of which was done by the Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin,” Jagdeo stated.
ExxonMobil first started exploration for oil under the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration and was granted a contract in 1999.

Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo during yesterday’s press conference

Jagdeo stated that ExxonMobil has the right to make money on their investments, but since it is Guyana’s resources, the bulk of the benefits must flow to Guyanese. This scenario, he explained, would equate to a fair deal.
“They are not coming here because they love Guyana or any of us. They are coming here because they see a good investment opportunity and therefore they will not come here unless they get a chance to make money on their investment. Every investor should be allowed to do that. That is how you attract foreign investment. At the same time, the bulk of these resources must lead to the upliftment of our people, Guyanese,” Jagdeo said.
The Opposition Leader was asked about criticisms of his party’s silence; Jagdeo noted that the PPP shed light on the bad negotiations by the government which led to the country losing billions in potential revenue.
“We are not silent on it by any standard,” Jagdeo noted.
He stated that the party believes in the sanctity of contracts, but the government has to first decide whether it wants to renegotiate the contract.
Despite the outpouring of criticisms, the government has shut down calls to renegotiate the contract, pointing out that they are currently satisfied with its provisions.
“We pushed for the renegotiations and they say we are trying to destroy the climate for investments in Guyana by not respecting the sanctity of the contract. I am hoping that our Government will sit with ExxonMobil and talk about it,” Jagdeo stated.