Why did former Minister Trotman not defend himself?

Dec 08, 2020 Editorial

Kaieteur News – Something is rotten in Guyana, which is nowhere near Denmark. There is too much troubling silence from our politicians on anything concerning the questions that rage over their handling of this nation’s oil wealth. The situation on our oil becomes more sinister, when political people who are always loud have all lost their voices on anything related to Guyana’s oil patrimony.
There is the Former Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman. Without a doubt, Mr. Trotman has been dealt more insulting and wounding blows than any other political figure in this country over our oil. There is no comparison, with what he has had to absorb; no one even in the vicinity of the number of sharp public piercings that would leave any man ragged and hurting. Yet, Mr. Trotman has never made a concerted attempt to defend himself. Like Joe Frazier of old, he simply leaned on the ropes and took what rained on him from everywhere. Unlike Smokin’ Joe, however, this former very important Minister of Guyana did not even put up his arms to block the thunder and furies battering him.
Mr. Trotman, in some form or another and at one time or another, has been called every dirty name that could be found. We are prevented from printing the unmentionable ones. But we can present to the public the verbal and printed ordeals that this man was subjected to, but against which he did not lift a finger to defend himself, to resist the tide drowning him in offal and slime.
The then minister was, under the umbrella of various words and phrases, called the equivalent of sellout, traitor, conman, moronic, less than useless, and much more. These are the kinder and gentler ones. We at this publication thought it was all deserving and in complete order. Yet it is now coming to light that, all along, Mr. Trotman was leading a double life, he was playing hide and seek with oil truths and with Guyanese to whom he owed a responsibility for the kind of maximum openness that comes from total honesty. That is, no holding back, no playing of slick games, no commission of the unacceptable by engaging in what reeks of omission.
But this is precisely what Mr. Trotman did; he was all of those things listed above, and then some more. But most of all, it is what he omitted to tell the angry, disappointed and disgusted public. He hid from the truth; and in so doing he hid the truth from citizens, who had to know. For there he was, in front of a parliamentary subcommittee asking questions about the Orinduik Oil Block, and he opened up and spoke a mouthful. The former minister shared a number of things, which we will accept as factual, since they were in the legislative house of the people, and a place where nothing less than honourable business is expected to be conducted.
Mr. Trotman stated that other than a single award to Tullow Oil, his APNU coalition group was not involved in any oil awards. And the reason for the Tullow Oil award in early 2016 was to honour a commitment made by the former PPP government (KN December 7). This is worth repeating: the former Minister asserted that his APNU coalition was not involved in any way or to any degree with what transpired with the other oil blocks and any arrangements and their related terms and conditions. This was back in May 2018 (KN December 7).
But, despite being cruelly and relentlessly beaten up publicly by one and all, Mr. Trotman never wavered from his standing line that he was not prepared to say anything on oil matters. While the painful cuffs and kicks connected, the man did not budge. While the taints to his reputation stockpiled, he did not blink.
What did he know? What did former Minister Trotman know, but would not speak about at all in public? What was he hiding? Who, and how many, was he defending? What could be involved that he gave more than his life to keep oil secrets that protected even political adversaries? Indeed, something is rotten with oil Guyana.

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