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Bribes for big ones in government

Dec 17, 2020 Editorial

Kaieteur News – Where there is the will, a way is usually found and, with practice and time, it is as easy as one, two, three. This is what was revealed in the article titled, “World’s top oil trader paid bribes for years to govts.” (KN December 11). A couple of things came to light, which should alert Guyanese of the costly troubles and damage that oil brings.
First, there was the world’s biggest oil trading company, Vitol Inc., which admitted to paying millions in bribes to governments in Ecuador, Mexico, and Brazil. We at this paper wish to make something clear right from the start, Vitol Inc. cannot be the only oil trading company that was engaged in this kind of criminal conduct that cheats other companies out of a fair deal, and which robs citizens of the countries when their elected and selected officials fall prey to the rich cash baits dangled before them. And further, we state that Ecuador, Mexico, and Brazil were not the only countries where either Vitol Inc. or other oil traders and oil producing majors participated in this kind of skullduggeries involving deceiving and cheating. The stakes are too rich and irresistible to overcome, to not have others who will do what it takes to stay in the oil game and prosper. It is either that or be content with below average performance, or being forced out altogether.
Our fellow citizens need to be aware that this is the name of the game, and no matter the quantity and quality of laws and regulations, ways are found by the scheming to pull fast ones and get away with doing so. Look at Vitol Inc. and what it did for years. Look at senior government officials in the three countries named and what they partnered for, and how they betrayed the trust of the people, who hoped in them and waited on them to deliver.
Fellow Guyanese, make no mistake, there were robust regulations in place, but the street-smart people at Vitol Inc. were able to go around them, through sly backdoor arrangements and sweet under-the-table dealings with governments, while reassuring everyone that systems in place were working and effective. Determined and resourceful companies are always one, if not several, steps ahead of those who watch and probe them. Such companies and their leaders put paper bags over the heads of their people and cloud their visions, their senses, and their judgements. They have willing partners from the side of governments with whom they do business.
We would not be surprised if Exxon did not have studies done on each Guyanese leader – political, civic, commercial, media, and so forth – that could wield influence and make decisions with this oil of ours. In fact, we would be shocked if revealing dossiers have not been compiled on the records, weaknesses, and ambitions of Guyanese leaders, with governmental ones being first in line, for the sole purpose of determining which ones are the best of the lot to do business with; a certain kind of shady business that rewards both speaker and listener and, eventually, giver and taker.
As is common knowledge in this country, Guyanese political leaders, with rare exceptions, have a long and sordid history of governance malpractices. This is not limited to any political party and stretches from the PPP to the PNC to the reincarnation that is the APNU. And as for the new political groups, there are many questions about many of them, and how well they positioned themselves to be at the banquet table, where millions in U.S. dollars are available to collaborating players. We make this broad statement, which we feel is thoroughly justified, since both individual and party postures and records do not inspire confidence. The list of questionable and suspected is too long, and the environment too corrupting.
The Vitol Inc. development is merely the tip of the iceberg, and when we analyze the reluctance of Guyanese political leaders to come clean and tell straight stories on this oil of ours, it is clear that they have much to hide. That they may be in business for themselves, that they have sold us out and taken bribes.

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