Badal joins call to remove Trotman until investigation completed

Feb 06, 2020 News

Presidential Candidate of Change Guyana, Robert Badal, has joined the call to have Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, to be removed from the electoral list until an inquiry is completed.

Change Guyana’s Presidential Candidate, Robert Badal

Badal’s requests follow the shocking details revealed in the Global Witness report titled, ‘Signed Away’.
The report, which was released on Monday, has sparked a national debate. It states that Minister Trotman may have ignored critical advice that could have saved Guyana US$55 billion, as well as secure better financial terms than those which exist in the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for the Stabroek Block.
“There is widespread public outcry that Guyanese interests have been highly comprised in favour of Big Oil Companies.”
“The process of investigating corrupt practices must be open and transparent. This would require that Minister Trotman be removed from public office and a commission of inquiry undertaken as a matter of urgency,” Badal said yesterday.
According to Global Witness, the negotiations and subsequent signing of the ExxonMobil-Guyana deal was done quickly.
From evidence it saw, negotiations began April 4 or April 5, 2016 at the Exxon headquarters outside Houston, Texas, with Trotman and other officials from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC). The international NGO said that the trip was a glamorous affair.
The transparency body said, “Trotman flew first class, slept in pricey hotels, ate at Joule – Exxon’s exclusive Wolfgang Puck Restaurant – and was chauffeured around in limousines.
“Exxon paid for it all. During this trip, it appears that the Minister and his colleagues did not negotiate a new Stabroek license.”
“Change Guyana is demanding that President Granger immediately remove the Minister from office to facilitate the promised release of information to the public. In addition that he appoints a commission of inquiry to investigate the processes and negotiations leading up to the award of the Stabroek Block oil and gas contract.
“If this inquiry is not done immediately, the conclusion could be drawn that there is a cover up,” Badal contented.

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