‘Our Wealth, Our Country’ …Newly launched NGO to challenge leaders for better oil deal

Mar 27, 2022 News

“Our major focus right now is to have persons join our call for a better deal from the oil contract so we can go to government and say this is what we want.”

By Davina Bagot

Kaieteur News – A group of passionate Guyanese have joined forces to form a new non-governmental organisation (NGO), dubbed ‘Our Wealth, Our Country’ (OWOC), that will be challenging the country’s leaders to ensure citizens benefit from a better contract with oil giant, ExxonMobil.

Danny Ramnarain addressing the members of OWOC at the launch of the group

OWOC was officially launched last Sunday at the Ramada Hotel in Providence, East Bank Demerara. Since then, more than 500 persons have joined the group.
One of the founders, Mr. Danny Ramnarain, who resides in the United States of America (USA), in an interview, said the NGO is currently on a mission to get more Guyanese on board the call for renegotiation of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), signed by 2016, under the former administration with Exxon.
“We are demanding our fair share of wealth from the country’s resources. For too long Guyanese have sat down and allowed foreigners to come in and take away what belongs to us. It has happened with our gold, timber, bauxite, lumber and in all the other sectors, but we are here to stand up and say to government that we will not be bullied,” a passionate Ramnarain told this publication.
The founding member explained that organisations such as OWOC are grassroots bodies which represent the wishes of the underprivileged and unheard voices in society, such as the poor or less fortunate.
He explained that governments often tend to forget that it was those sets of people who voted them into power. So the goal of the NGO is to ensure political parties keep their manifesto promises. In this case, Ramnarain said that while on the campaign trail, now President Irfaan Ali, had promised to renegotiate the oil contract, which at the moment seemed to be nothing but a ploy to attract votes.

Members of OWOC protesting against the oil contract recently.

Ramnarain argued that the importance of the contract being renegotiated is beyond evident in Guyana’s economy today, as low and middle class earners struggle to make ends meet, while those at the higher end of the pay scale, especially politicians are ignorant of the cost for basic food items in supermarkets and shops.
“I think it is time for Guyanese to wake up and take back their country. This present oil contract does not benefit the poor people in society. It is only beneficial to the government and Exxon. We are in high gear to have them renegotiate. Our government cannot say to people that they would do this and when elected they do things differently,” he asserted.
About the founding member, Danny Ramnarain
Ramnarain grew up in Leonora on the West Coast of Demerara, with his parents and five sisters. Importantly, he was neighbour to his aunt, Kowsilla also known as ‘Alice’ (only names given), who fought for better working and living conditions for sugar workers in the 1960s. His aunt was a fighter who, during a general sugar workers strike, formed a human barricade by squatting on the bridge leading to the Leonora factory gate back in March 6, 1964.
Following the instructions of the factory manager, a tractor was sent to disperse the squatters, some of whom were severely injured during the process. Some others had jumped off the bridge to save themselves. Unfortunately, Kowsilla and two other women did not make it out unharmed. Kowsilla’s body was severed in two, while the two other women suffered broken spines and were crippled for life.
Having such a fearless and brave aunt, Ramnarain said he grew up too as a fighter of the will of the people.
He left Guyana for the US in search of a better life for his parents and sisters, while he was still a teenager. He would later become an electrical contractor and do jobs to sustain his family.
But in addition to giving back to his family, the founding member of the group said he has made several donations and contributions to his village, through supplying computers to the school and equipment for the Hindu Temple, among others.
You can join OWOC
“Our major focus right now is to have persons join our call for a better deal from the oil contract so we can go to government and say this is what we want,” Ramnarain explained.
Guyanese who are interested in supporting or becoming a member of ‘Our Wealth, Our Country’ can do so by reaching out to Ramnarain on 592-655-8368 or +1 917- 560-7445 or Ms. Melina Harris on 592-671-8294 or Ray Daggers on 592-616-0006.
The group said it will be adding its voice to critical issues pertaining to the management of Guyana’s oil sector and the public can also look forward to seeing the members on the protest line, against the lopsided oil contract.
Guyana’s oil contract
Kaieteur News would have exposed that Guyana’s PSA for the Stabroek Block is one of the world’s worst provisions when compared to 130 other deals in the world. For example, the PSA sees the government paying the contractor’s income tax out of the country’s share of the profits. However, none of the 130 PSAs examined shows this arrangement.
Further, Guyana’s PSA is the only one out of 130, which has very moderate work obligations for contractors who are vested with offshore licences. Additionally, the Guyana-ExxonMobil PSA is the only one out of 130 contracts, which has no ring-fencing provisions to prevent costs of unsuccessful wells being carried over to that of successful wells.
There is also no sliding scale for royalty to increase as production improves. And that is not all. Guyana’s PSA is the only one out of 130 in the world that allows insurance premiums to be fully recovered as well as interest on loans and financing costs that are incurred by the contractors. The newspaper publisher has been adamant that the two percent royalty deal for which oil giant ExxonMobil has inked with local politicians is not carved in stone and as such can be changed in favour of the citizens of Guyana.
In January of last year, this newspaper published a piece with the headline, “Suriname secures three times Guyana’s royalty for latest oil find”. In that article, Kaieteur News had reported that Suriname was able to obtain a 6.5 percent royalty from operators, Total and Apache, for its Maka-1 Well.
This percentage is three times the royalty Guyana obtained from ExxonMobil for its Stabroek Block and six times the royalty it obtained from Tullow for its Orinduik Block. Suriname was also able to negotiate a deal that allows it to benefit from a 36 percent tax on income from the operators.