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Guyana faces grave danger
Jan 31, 2021 Front Page Comment, News
Kaieteur News – Our political leaders are exposing us to grave danger. They have failed to secure meaningful insurance coverage to provide robust protection if and when an oil spill occurs.
The local-registered subsidiaries of Exxon, Hess, and CNOOC are paper tigers. They lack the finances to provide satisfactory coverage should liabilities from oil spills accrue. Our leaders must demonstrate the courage to the oil companies’ parent bodies to demand insurance protection to cushion the effects of any oil spill.
On Friday, Nigerians won a court award for oil spill compensation against Royal Dutch Shell. It took 13 years for justice to prevail in a Dutch Appeals Court. The Friends of the Earth Organization was instrumental in mobilizing legal representation for four poor farmers, who were among many affected by oil pollution in Nigeria.
The court ruling has implications beyond Nigeria. The court case provides precedent. It is an emphatic ruling that stresses the necessity of corporate responsibility in countries in which oil companies operate.
If only Guyana’s spineless political leaders could act similarly as the Friends of the Earth and those four farmers, there could be greater confidence in the response to any oil spill disaster.
Our leaders must pressure Exxon to obtain satisfactory insurance to compensate us in the event of an oil spill. Our leaders must stop begging and bowing to the oil companies.
They must insist that unless there is satisfactory insurance in place, they will place a halt on oil operations. Let it come to that if this is what it will take to protect us.
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