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Exxon makes Guyana into a checker rather than a partner.
Who makes out a contract with a business partner and don’t give themselves a say as to how much money is being spent during its establishment and operations?
Do you know of anyone in this world who would do that? Yes, yes the Government of Guyana.
It entered into a contract with Exxon which gives Guyana no say in what, how much and the cost of goods and services procured. Whatever numbers the oil companies provide as to their costs, Guyana has to pay. We have no say.
The oil companies will spend and send the bill as cost recovery. And they have the temerity to tell us that we have a right to audit what they spent and that we can hire foreign auditors for this task. This consigns Guyana to the role of a checker rather than a partner who should have a say in the establishment and operations of the sector.
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Guyana took a loan of US$20M loan from the World Bank and part of that money was used to hire a law firm to review our oil laws. But Guyana has not yet established policy guidelines for the oil and gas sector.
This is equivalent to Granger building a house without a plan.
The contract of the firm hired to revise our laws, we are told it is being fine-tuned at present. This is like Granger discussing with the contractor the price of the building, when it is going to be completed etc. without knowing what kind of house he wants.
Everybody knows that if you are building a house, you have to be able to tell the contractor about the design, size and materials to be used in the construction. You have to provide specifications about the inside and outside of the house.
It is the same principle when it comes to revising laws. The law firm undertaking the revisions, must be guided on how to safeguard and protect Guyana’s interests. They have to be instructed as to what should be put into the revised laws so as, for example, to increase transparency, maximise the country’s financial returns, guarantee environmental safety, encourage local content and avoid the resource curse. Those are some of the key features that should be part of the revised laws and regulations
Without a policy, Guyanese will be doomed.
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