The Paragon of Virtue

Jun 20, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

Recent statements’ emanating from the local oil & gas consultant and former advisor to the Government Dr. Jan Mangal has led me to catechise his motive.
Sometime in 2016 President Granger had announced the establishment of a group branded the Quintet+1 comprising five ministers and Dr. Mangal. This group was said to be engaging Esso Guyana and its parent company on a production sharing agreement, so it is irreconcilable that the President and Dr. Mangal were unaware a pact was being negotiated and a contract later signed in 2016.
This proclamation was later befogged by Mr. Granger, when he himself made a public deposition in August 2017 in the presence of ExxonMobil’s Chief Executive Officer: “We have got to keep the public informed to ensure that civil society does not feel there is some underhand relationship between the government and ExxonMobil.”
It now flummoxes my sanity that Dr. Mangal would now say he and the president were not aware of the signing and that he only became aware after.
However, giving Dr. Mangal the benefit of the doubt and assuming he and President Granger were not aware of the oil and gas contract, then the question must be asked: who was aware?
As cognisant as I am, Dr. Mangal was the only person in the entire public service in Guyana at that time that was receiving public funds for his skill and technical knowledge in oil and gas sector.
If Minister Trotman signed a contract with ExxonMobil at the time without consulting him then it speaks volumes as to what the subject minister at the time thought about him and the professional relationship these learned gentlemen shared.
The recent statements that Dr. Mangal made claiming that he was made aware of the signing of a new contract long after this was revealed to him by ExxonMobil truly leaves one to wonder.
This dearly gentleman who is now trying to parade as a paragon of virtue and a messiah of higher standards, who almost weekly is in the media speaking about corruption, comes across as someone who is bitter because of the non-renewal of his contract.
Given all that he said about morality and corruption, it is only fitting that he should hold himself to those canons, which he himself has set out. By his own admission, he did almost nothing as an advisor and should refund the treasury if he wants us to take him seriously.
Dr. Mangal’s crusade to look self-righteous and make officials in Guyana (from both Governments) look corrupt, has now taken on a different tone. I hope when he is called to give testimony to the Securities Commission he will walk with his evidence.
Kishan Gharbaran

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