A disastrous year

Jan 04, 2023 Editorial

Kaieteur News – The front page of KN on Tuesday, January 03 roared with the banner headline of ‘A disastrous year for Guyana’s oil sector’ –Patterson’. The word ‘NO’ appears a staggering seven times, relative to the important things that the PPPC Government has not done. Half or any three to four of the huge failures by the PPPC Government would have been enough in another country to get it kicked out of power, run out of town.

We go through the seven ‘NOs’, representing enormous failures of Leadership, crisis of political will, and the best that could be said about this Government is that it is criminally irresponsible, with elements of collusion with the foreign oil companies. Obviously, there is an art to the stonewalling by the PPPC Government that now catches its people with their pants down, and sewage all over their faces.

It is just over a year later and already the nation’s Oil Fund is being operated like a political petty cashbox. That is, something to be opened whenever it pleases, and millions taken out of it, without so much as a penny left to show for any withdrawal. The reality is “2022 closes with no trace of US$600M drawdown from the Oil Fund.” The possible crimes that we warned about have already started, well underway. It would be interesting to hear what the PPPC Spokespeople wiggle out of that booby trap.

More importantly, it raises serious questions about the layers of people that were put over the Oil Fund (NRF, properly) of which a big production was made of how much of a check and balance they would be, how vigilant as watchdogs they will prove. They must have gotten caught up in the holiday traffic, so they missed both meetings and memo. Very seriously, somebody fell asleep at the wheel, and is still sleeping. In fact, a whole company of them are nothing but useless to Guyanese, in that such an abomination could have taken place (US$600M withdrawn and quickly vanishing). We had feared that they would be subject to manipulations/rearrangements by the political directorate, and now there is this incredible development. The men overseeing the NRF should all hang their heads in shame, as there is no confidence that they have any purpose other than as window-dressing for the PPPC Government.

Another alarming disclosure (‘NO’) concerns the auditing of ExxonMobil’s US$7.3B in bills. This is not spare change for this poor country, but a big chunk of cash that can make much difference in the lives of Guyanese. The audit was first scheduled to be completed by last September. Then there was something from the Vice President about December, and a preliminary report coming out then. It is now January 2023 and there is a shroud of silence around the absence of any Audit Report whatsoever on ExxonMobil’s bills. Putting the best face on this, it is possible that the Audit Team unearthed some bombshells, and now ExxonMobil and the PPPC Government (they are one) are running for cover and buying time to cook-up some new scheme with those bills. On the other hand, it could be that the Audit Team is still scratching around and trying to come up with something to justify its existence. Regardless of which scenario applies, it is past the December extension, and there is NO Audit Report on that US$7.3B in bills.

A big “NO” involves Independent Regulators, of which there is no one in place after seven years of oil being discovered. Since it is the PPPC Government that is in charge of the oil, this is not surprising. For a truly Independent Regulatory body would mean accountability and transparency, even incorruptibility, with everything in Guyana’s oil sector. For all its propaganda, the PPPC Government is clever enough to detect where danger lies, and Independent Regulators represent clear and immediate danger. The PPPC Government is not going to risk them.

None of this is unexpected, and we had said so in some shape or form in 2022. Now we are proved accurate in 2023. Guyanese can continue to waste 2023, and allow the PPPC Government to get away with financial and other murders. Or they can stand up and fight back.