An open letter to the president

Mar 15, 2018 Letters

Dear Editor,
Despite the release from the Office of the Presidency that the PSA between Exxon and Government of Guyana is a “done deal” there is the call for Government to reconsider its position continues from all quarters of society.
In all due respect, the cries from the masses should not and will not abate, until this objective is achieved.
While the Government ostensibly has its legitimacy from the 2015 General Elections, we as the citizens have the right to have a voice in the “management and decision-making processes of the state, with particular emphasis on those areas of decision-making that directly affect their well being.”
The asininity of the PSA will affect our well being and the well being of the next two generations to come, long after the present personalities in Government go to the Great Beyond. For this reason, we the people hereby appeal to the Government, particularly the President to do what is right for Guyana, by renegotiating the PSA with Exxon.
Mr. President, we urge you to think carefully about the legacy you would like to leave for future generations as a president of this Country. VAT on private education was an issue that we the people were against; you rescinded it. We are grateful to you for that, albeit it took a year. The PSA is titanic in proportion to VAT on Private education and as such requires greater urgency. Sir your own adviser on petroleum had told the public that:
(1) Royalties around the world are around 10 to 20% and more in some cases.
(2) Contracts need to be dynamic (open to changes) therefore they should not have stability clauses.
(3) The contract (PSA) can be renegotiated.
Sir, it is important that your government consider the worth of our oil resources. Oil is a scarce resource. These discoveries that Exxon made in our territorial waters may constitute the last significant discovery on the planet. Once extracted, oil does not regrow like a tree. Now that we are aware that the oil is there we must demand our fair share.
The present Environmental Impact Agreement does not hold Exxon liable for any accidental oil spill. The Production Sharing Agreement gives us a measly 2% royalty, it tags us with a US$460 million cost for Exxon’s search for oil, it gives Exxon free concession for importation, “from rope to soap,” it allows only one audit of their expenditure per year.
It compels the minister to give one week’s notice before visiting the extraction site; it stops future governments from increasing any taxes or penalties throughout some 40 years of extraction (stability clause). Are we that hungry for some oil money to sign up for such atrocities?
Sir! This explains why all the experts, including your own Dr. Mangal insists that Guyana got a bad deal. While so many PSA’s that Exxon had signed with other Countries were languishing out there in the electronic spectrum, from which our negotiators could have compared and contrast as they iron out a credible deal in the realm of orthodoxy for us.
Our PSA leads the normal mind to wonder if Exxon “wined and dined” our representatives, then gave them to sign whatever Exxon wrote-the trick that one expert suggested is used by Exxon on third world leaders.
Mr. President! One does not require a high intelligence quotient to detect that the PSA Exxon got from Guyana is more favorable to Exxon, beyond comparison to any it has with other Country- the experts say it is bad, we hire experts for their expertise-a statement you can scarcely deny, having hired Dr. Mangal as your adviser on petroleum. In this regard the adamancy of your Government towards renegotiating the PSA is incomprehensible.
It was noted that you had said that “the adviser advises me, ”but policy comes from the Cabinet. We, the people, consider it as highly illogical and unorthodox that the present government policy on the PSA is not reflective of what your adviser had told the public. I would not want to think Dr. Mangal told you something different.
The present stance of your Government now begs a question. Did Exxon give or promise Government something that the public is unaware of? The secrecy of the signing bonus and the one year delay in releasing the PSA stand out like code RED indicators. The contract needs to be renegotiated to prove otherwise.
Rudolph Singh

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