The Story within the Story… And the plot thickens…

Dec 30, 2018 News

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By Leonard Gildarie

We are on to the end of the year. And what a year it has been. The administration has been under severe pressure over our oil deal and the country’s preparedness for this swiftly emerging sector, and rightfully so.
We must have a good deal and ExxonMobil, as one of the biggest companies in the world, can do the right thing and use Guyana as a model of its business. Its track record with poor countries has not been a flattering one, and there have been questions whether countries really benefitted from the presence of the company, or a few politicians who got filthy rich, driving luxury cars and owning palatial homes elsewhere.
I believe that it is not too late and we can still nudge ExxonMobil and its partners into the right direction, despite warnings that contracts cannot be revisited and any such forays will send a wrong message to investors.
I agree with that part. Contracts are sacred and have to be respected and honoured. There are special courts and even certain lawyers who specialize in handling contracts and negotiations.
However, we are not talking about a simple contract with a business in Guyana.
That agreement is with the people of Guyana and we are demanding a better deal.
The oil is in my backyard and I am saying I am not happy.
It would redound therefore to the credit of ExxonMobil, and by extension Guyana, if it is understood by all that the oil find is not just about one little well. From all indications, it is over four billion barrels and counting. There is oil in the area, and lots of it too.
All of a sudden, little Guyana with a mere 750,000 citizens has been dragged into the spotlight on the world map. And the reason is simple. Guyana is said to be among the top of the biggest oil finds in the last year. That is no ordinary tagline.
We move on.
Guyana was all set for a routine Christmas, heralding a new year and preparing for first oil and elections in 2020. Then December 21st happened. Remember the name Charrandass Persaud!
Last week, we spoke on the need for heading to elections, according to the regulations as set out in the Constitution of Guyana.
It is simple. Once a vote of no-confidence has been passed in the House, the government of the day must resign and elections must be called within three months. The government of the day will be a caretaker one.
Elections can only be held after the 90-day stipulated period once there is an agreement between the Government and Opposition.
I believe that GECOM would have needed some more time to prepare, for it will be the mother of all elections, and in any case, the 90-day period would not have worked.

CONFUSION
However, there have been various statements in the past week which have heavily divided this nation and the no-confidence vote, all of a sudden, is not so simple or absolute anymore.
Attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes has raised a possibility that the no-confidence vote that was carried – 33-32 – was likely…well…not carried.
He argued that the 65 seats would require an absolute majority of 34 – not 33.
Hughes has presented cases overseas, in the Commonwealth, of precedence which he believes would have bearing if the matter reaches to court.
The statements from the lawyer immediately triggered a huge debate.
What is a majority? Isn’t 33 greater than 32?
Not that simple, it seems.
Then the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), which is a large part of A Partnership For National Unity (APNU), which forms the bigger faction of the Coalition Government, made damning allegations on Friday.
It said it is gathering evidence that MP Persaud, whose one vote caused a government to fall –
for the first time in Guyana – may have taken money.
PNCR also claimed Friday that from all indications a Trini businessman helped pay the money.
The party did not provide evidence and had not filed a police report as yet.
Issues were raised over a decision by Persaud to give up his law office in Berbice to another in the legal profession, and even sell his duty free vehicle weeks before. It appears that he was preparing to leave. Why would one give up a legal practice in Guyana, one that was successful according to the MP himself, and go live elsewhere, out of the country? Who does that?
PNCR even claimed that they are developing evidence which suggests that the MP met with Opposition elements at a hotel.

DAMAGING ALLEGATIONS
These are damaging allegations. However, at the moment, they are just that.
For the vote to be proven invalid, it will have to be proven a law was broken.
Assuming that the MP took money, and I am taking liberties here, how easy would it be to establish that the money were for his vote? And even if this is established, what is the law that is broken? It would raise issues with the code of conduct that MPs must adhere to? Does the code address bribe-taking?
I have my own take on the issue and I do intend to get hold of the MP – who has since that vote been expelled by the Alliance For Change – to answer pertinent questions on the issue.
While MPs should back their respective parties on key issues, there should be some level of independence to also represent the people when it comes to the matter of critical importance…abortion, marijuana, the death penalty etc.
However, this issue of the no-confidence vote is not an ordinary one.
This recent vote has raised yet another red-flag over the weaknesses of our Constitution.
We have been talking about reforms and yet no serious progress has been made in this respect.
Time and again, we have seen aspects of the Constitution tested, and the vagueness of some paragraphs is unbelievable.
This administration will have to take fault that it failed to gain much traction in this direction.
I see the arguments that MP Persaud should have resigned if he was unhappy with his party, the AFC, for not doing its work.
From all indications, key officials including PM Moses Nagamootoo, met with Persaud the weekend before, and nothing seemed amiss.
MP Persaud himself told reporters after that fateful night of December 21st, that he had made the decision the night before.
There are many questions. The Government has established a sub-committee to examine its options. That sub-committee of Cabinet has prepared a report and the recommendations are being studied by the administration. I presume the recommendations will examine options of going to court or using the National Assembly.
The PNCR has claimed that the plot to bring down the government did not happen overnight.
There are so many sub-plots. I will leave it here for the moment.
We are heading into a defining 2019.We should be ashamed of still not finding the formula of working together. We will continue to play divisive politics, as it does not matter which government is in place, there will be half of the population that will feel aggrieved.
Do we dare hope that truly inclusive governance is not wishful thinking? Do we dare hope that we have politicians like that?
In the new year, nothing much will change with regards to our scrutiny of our business and our politicians. It will get tougher for them. We are not happy.
A new year is upon us and I do wish, from my home to yours, that we do better, far better, than 2018.

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