Floodgates will be open to corruption, poor governance if laws not rooted in policy –TT Petroleum Expert

May 19, 2020 News

By Kiana Wilburg

If Guyana does not ensure that its laws are rooted in good policy, then it would only be opening the floodgates to corruption says Trinidadian Petroleum Expert, Anthony Paul.

Trinidadian energy expert, Anthony Paul

His comments come in wake of a recent Kaieteur News article which exposed that the Energy Department is pursing the review of Guyana’s oil and gas laws without a national oil and gas Policy in place. In spite of advice given to Guyana since 2016 to pursue a policy first, the Energy Department is in the process of fine-tuning a US$1.2M contract with American law firm, Hunton, Andrews, Kurth LLP. That company also enjoys a 40-year relationship with ExxonMobil which is the largest player in Guyana’s oil industry.
Reflecting on this state of affairs during a discussion on Kaieteur Radio’s programme, ‘Guyana’s Oil and You’, Paul said it is critical that Guyana has a policy in place to ensure the principles of transparency and accountability take root in the governance structure for the industry.
To illustrate the importance of having a policy in place, he offered the following example: “When you are putting together a budget, you are faced with all kinds of decisions. How much to save, how much to spend. But that is determined by what you want to achieve. Let’s say you want to buy a house. You have to consider what the market looks like. Are prices going up or down?”
Based on what the prices are at the time, Paul said one may choose to rent for a while until prices are more affordable, adding, “Now that you know what you want to achieve, you have essentially outlined a policy. And that policy says what you are going to do, which is rent for a while and save up until prices are more affordable. Your policy is essentially fit for purpose.”
With that policy, Paul said that one can go about setting rules to ensure the vision becomes a reality. He said one might set a rule (law) to only go out to the club with friends once a week. Stemming from that law, he said one would design a regulation that is more detailed. That regulation would say you can go clubbing but only at Palm Court. And when you go there, you can only buy two shots of vodka. Paul said that in this way, one has clearly outlined a system of governance which is born from policy.
“Without having thought about what you want, then all you are doing is cutting and pasting someone else’s legislation and if it is not fit for purpose then it will not work. In reality, politicians quite often, like this state of affairs because if the law is not implementable, then it gives them power to act at their own discretion. And not just the politicians, the public servants too,” he noted.
Paul, who is currently providing advice to the Government of Mozambique, cautioned that if the law is not rooted in good policy, it leads to ad hoc decision making. With clear rules and procedures, however, decision-makers can be held to account. He further stated that in the absence of same, the flood gates are left open wide to corruption. The energy expert was also keen to note that corruption is not the only source of loss for countries like Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.
Most value loss in countries like ours,” he explained, “comes through inept governance and weak public service. So don’t just focus on stopping corruption. Fixing the governance system also gives you allot of retention of value than just preventing corruption.”
He said that one of the best routes to take to ensure high quality governance is ensuring laws are born out of good policy.
“I am not saying you can’t start life without policy but there are consequences when you head in that direction,” Paul concluded.