The US$9.5B giveaway

Nov 06, 2021 Letters

Dear Editor,

Kaieteur News – Reference is made to the article titled, “Govt’s. failure to meet 2-year audit deadline; Guyana is now forced to pay US$9.5 billion for Liza 1 & 2 Projects (KN November 4). My reactions follow.

People who don’t know to read and write- like many of our great-grandparents, doggedly pressed for details, some explanation, any clarity, when money was involved.

The bigger the sum, the more careful they were; they had to be, since they were usually very poor. They didn’t drag their feet, pretend that the bills presented for payment didn’t exist, or played stupid. Not when they knew that they were dealing with a ‘fast’ partner (customer). This is how Guyana should have been for almost two years now where those US$9.5B in bills were concerned, because its political masters know that this country is far from rich. Because, they knew, too, that Exxon stood as Exhibit A for the slippery and crafty. To refresh memories, Exxon did so before with approximately 20% or US$92M of its expense submissions. So, when US$9.5B was dumped in Guyana’s lap, it had to be full speed ahead to get to the bottom of that pile of billions, and with the greatest skepticism. For US$9.5B has a lot of wriggle room for the underhanded, as in the imaginary and creative, which had to be anticipated, given the tricky partner Exxon has always been with Guyana.

Instead of full speed ahead, the PPP Government already had a plan of its own, which was to let the two-year audit clock run out. The President, who fancies himself a Flying Dutchman, and the Vice President, who figures himself to be God’s gift to Guyana, both gave themselves the longest timeout possible. They did nothing of substance or persuasive merit. Now the Vice President puts on his best game face (a most unconvincing one) to tell Guyanese that we lack the forensic auditing skills. It is a study in the slimy. Merely to say something like that should be made a felony. Having arranged the environment for arrival at this point of shortfall and failure, the Hon. Vice President then unveiled his US$9.5B baby: it has to be honored. if that is not the height of the discrediting, then few things willever be.

Surely, we could have found and interest some Trinidadians or some of our newfound Arab friends, who were long immersed in oil accounting and auditing, given their years with this liquid banshee. My problem is not that we don’t know what was there, and who we may have got. It is that we didn’t even give a real, sincere, and spirited try to obtain the type and caliber of examiners needed. The big oilman in Guyana spoke of possibly a couple of locals, and lamented the scarcity. Guyana could run and recruit all kinds of questionable characters for this and that under-the-table project. But it was curiously slothful in contracting with foreign specialists, who would drop whatever they had to get a piece of our auditing business, since so much more could stir later.

No! we will pay the US$9.5B today, and move on that better tomorrow. In presenting those steroid-powered bills, it is my position that Exxon cleverly circled around foreign corrupt practices. In paving the way for matters to come to this piteous state about lack of local content auditing, PPP leaders made sure that their generosity will get rewarded handsomely and sophisticatedly, maybe Florida to start. The world has had the Pandora Papers, soon enough Guyanese will get the PPP Papers. If something looks like a rotted carcass and smells like one, it usually is. I congratulate Exxon’s and PPP leaders for a job well done. The public relations and narrative capture could have been better, though. Some things just stink to the high heavens. Indeed, kudos to His Excellency for transparency and accountability (a strange kind, for sure) on this one involving US$9.5B in unaudited bills. I close with this favorite: to understand a thief, think like a thief. Just work hard at not also becoming one in the process.

Sincerely,
GHK Lall

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The US$9.5B giveaway

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