Glenn Lall applauded for media activism on oil

Jan 28, 2021 Letters

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Dear Editor,

Those of us who study social sciences and or read about mass movements would be familiar with the rise of various social movements and ‘revolutions’ in the name of a just cause after a long period of abuse of a people. There are many examples around the globe; no need to mention any of them. Glenn Lall, publisher of Kaieteur News, is on to something that with time will grow into a mass movement. Glenn Lall and Chris Ram, the well-known lawyer, accountant, commentator, rights activist, who also writes on the lopsided oil contract, and who frequently appears on Glenn’s radio program, are recognized as consistent crusaders for a better oil contract. As I traveled around the country to conduct an opinion poll on the performance of the government on other issues, the duo are saluted and admired for exposing problems with the oil contracts that experts say would burden Guyana till eternity.
Glenn, as he is popularly called, like Chris, is fighting for a just contract (a fair deal) for Guyana with the oil (energy) companies. Glenn’s message, in his publication, his radio talk show, and a short video shared on social media, is slowly gaining attention. Glenn’s language, tone, and demeanor are simple and the public easily relate to his short video message and talk shows. But he has not been getting much traction in the rural areas. That will come with time as more and more people pay attention how they have been duped by the oil companies and the preceding regime. It is just a matter of time before Glenn’s message of an unfair oil contract expands into a movement.
Glenn has introduced a new element in social activism in Guyana — what I would call media activism on or about a social (or in this case an economic) issue that almost every Guyanese tend to view as an injustice – the lopsided oil contract that benefits large multinationals at the expense of Guyana and the small, relatively depraved population. He is not campaigning for revolutionary social change (like other social movements) although that may inevitably come with a mass movement given the amount of corruption unveiled about the preceding regime. Peoples’ anger over mass corruption and the oil contract may boil over into the streets. And he is not seeking to remove a government. Instead, Glenn has directed media focus on what everyone calls a one-sided oil (and gas) contract signed by the preceding Guyana government with depredatory oil giants. Anyone (locally and internationally) familiar with the oil deal laughs at how Guyana has been duped by savvy negotiators of the energy giants. I met foreign oil workers who laughed at Guyanese for the stupid contracts they negotiated. The oil companies are laughing all the way to the bank; a few Guyanese who team with the oil giants are also laughing all the way to the bank. The Guyana government did not seek expert advice of economists and oil experts and ended up signing an unjust deal that places Guyana at a serious disadvantage. The public is of the view that corruption, kickbacks, and greed got the nation into those oil contracts.
Those I conversed with while traversing the homeland and in the diaspora applaud the work of Glenn Lall and KN on highlighting the one sidedness of the oil contract. They view him as a patriot and a nationalist who stands up for Guyana on the oil issue, the way few do and virtually no politician. They say he comes across in his programs and in his publication as humble and genuinely concerned about how the country has been shafted by the oil producers. The public thank him for his courage in speaking out against the oil corruption in which figures (some names given) of the preceding regime was embroiled.
The public also praise Glenn for championing a just oil and gas contract ad a fair deal for Guyanese – an increase in the percentages of royalty and profit for Guyana, hiring of more Guyanese in high paying jobs including in management, and contracting Guyanese or their companies in providing goods and services to the oil producers. Guyanese are at the bottom of pay scale and have virtually no role in oil management and get a miniscule portion of contracts. (Mind you, it is not easy to break a contract that was signed by the preceding regime that almost everyone describes as incompetent and inept in its handling of the oil negotiation. But aspects of the contract can be renegotiated to provide Guyana a lot more benefits especially in local content, contracting Guyanese businesses, and hiring of local workers). As lawyers and business persons note, the present government has its hands tied on honoring the contract. The government says it is trying to get the oil companies to honor local content agreement, but local content laws, drafted by a commission, have not been legislated as yet.
The public urges Glenn (and Chris Ram) to continue to expose the injustices of the oil contracts and to continue their quest for a just oil contract for the nation.
Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram

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