The questionable agreements between the oil companies and the Government of Guyana

Jan 17, 2022 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Guyana is a relatively small South American country of three quarters of a million people on the tip of the continent that was previously a British colony, British Guiana, that experienced slavery and indentureship for several centuries that ended in 1914.
Within the last half of a century, Guyana lagged economically with regard to its standard of living and quality of life for its citizens behind its Caribbean counterparts and within the last two years substantial large deposits of oil have been found relative to the large deposits in Venezuela, its neighbour on its western border.
Guyana has two major political parties that in the last elections held in 2020 garnered more than 95 percent of the participatory electorate where the People’s National Congress/Reform, supported by African Guyanese and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, supported by East Indian Guyanese had an almost equal number of votes.
The oil agreements made are extremely questionable by the previous and current Governments of Guyana and as regards the previous subject minister, Hon. Raphael Trotman MP, and is currently before the Guyana courts in an action lawsuit brought by the publisher of a major newspaper, Mr. Glenn Lall, against the Government of Guyana and current Attorney General, Mr. Mohabir Anil Nandlall.
Mr. Hon. Raphael Trotman MP acted in his capacity as the subject Minister under the doctrine of ministerial responsibility and the then Government of Guyana,
As such Hon. Raphael Trotman MP cannot be sued in his personal capacity and the legal action brought against the current Government of Guyana is correct.
However, the court and the litigant have the right of legal redress to invite Mr. Raphael Trotman to explain the circumstances and reasons why he provided ministerial consent to the agreement between the oil company and the government.
Here is the important point Mr. Glenn Lall should be congratulated for this brave and needed step in the interests of all the citizens of Guyana that he took and I endorse and support him in this legal action.
To bring into perspective what is at stake here, in the 2020 General Elections, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo unilaterally stated that he will not revisit the Stabroek Block agreement which at the then price of oil approached US$110 Billion and represents more than 25 years of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.
Mr. Glenn Lall is extremely successful as the owner of a major newspaper and a radio station as this case is being tried in the court of public opinion and I have my own view who is the successful party.
We, including myself, have fought both the PNC/R Guyana and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic and we have lost as they quite easily and very effectively resort to dividing the nation along ethnic lines.
Both of these ethnic political pariahs are powerless against the media which Mr. Glenn Lall represents as the Stabroek News have Mr. Anand Persaud as it’s editor who literally campaigned on social media for The People’s Progressive Party/Civic in the last election and consequently have squandered and diminished his credibility.
The citizens of Guyana need an international team of lawyers and request financial assistance and donations made to the defense fund in this legal battle against its Government to have the oil contracts reviewed in its entirety with the review and full force of the law.
Mr. Glenn Lall has been handed a victory here in the arena of public opinion that has the Government of Guyana scrambling in every domain and quarter to seek credibility defending the indefensible.
The Government of Guyana recent actions in its Parliament attempting to rush an arduous Bill providing access to the oil funds is simply horrific and denying the Opposition party requesting more time to study the provisions of the Bill with regard to accountability and oversight by virtue of its mere one-seat majority and the partisan and unprofessional actions of its speaker, Mr. Manzoor Nadir.
Mr. Manzoor Nadir acted in a highly unprofessional manner given the reasonable nature of the request and its import and Mr. Manzoor Nadir is known to be a supporter of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic who held the important ministerial portfolio of trade under its administration.
This important Bill should never have been passed in the manner in which it has and it attests to the Guyanese Parliament being, in my view, a gong show that does not represent the interests of its own citizens.
Mr. Glenn Lall has made a call for Guyanese citizens to take to the streets in opposition to the manner in which the oil resources are being managed by the Government of Guyana. Investing resources taking people on the streets may play into the hands of these two political pariahs.
The legal battle goes to the next level and given Guyana’s conditions and political situation the streets may not be the arena as the most powerful weapon of choice in the arsenal of the citizens of Guyana is the media.
Regards,
Kris Kooblal

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