Laws, not platitudes

Dec 01, 2020 Front Page Comment, News

Kaieteur News – Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo is trying to make us feel good about our own misfortune. He patting us on our heads to make us feel satisfied and to try to calm our outrage over what we have been deprived of.
Mr. Jagdeo is trying too hard to convince us that better will come under the present contract with Exxon. Having Exxon stop importing water will not counterbalance the lopsided contract which has been handed to us. It does not compensate for the US$ 55B which was left at the negotiating table.
Instead of trying to appease us, Mr. Jagdeo should focus on ensuring that both Guyana and Exxon obtain a fair deal – we for our wealth and Exxon for their investment.

As Mr. Jagdeo knows all too well, Guyana’s petroleum laws are outdated. Laws ensure that obligations are met and, if not, then sanctions and penalties become operative. Laws create rights and duties. They therefore are fundamental to ensuring that each side gets that to which each is entitled.

The priority which Mr. Jagdeo assigns to the creation of jobs and opportunities for local businesses would be best achieved through local content legislation rather than wishful thinking. We need laws, not platitudes.

It is only when the appropriate laws are in place will we be able to give effect to our just entitlements. When we enact the right laws, we no longer have to rely on political promises or corporate goodwill. We will, through the right laws, create legally binding obligations which will ensure that we obtain that to which we are entitled.

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