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Opposition urged citizens to up pressure Govt. to deliver Exxon’s cost oil audits
Kaieteur News – Opposition Advisor and Economist, Elson Low, has urged Guyanese to up the pressure on the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government so that they release the results of the overdue multi-billion dollar ExxonMobil cost oil audits.
Low, who was part of an Opposition media conference panel yesterday, believes that if citizens remain silent on the audits, the documents may never be released. The Economist told the media that citizens must understand that a precedent is being set as to how Guyana handles its oil expenses. “…we are setting in essence, with this first cost oil audit, a precedent. And is it going to be like that from now on of all the audits of all of our cost oil expenses whether it is with Exxon, whether it is with other companies that produce oil in Guyana? Is it all going to be kept secret? Is this how this country’s oil industry is going to be run?” the Economist questioned.
Low said that Guyanese must keep in mind that it is over US$700 million, as well as another US$7b that is at stake with the current cost oil audits. Guyana is currently unaware of the truth of Exxon’s alleged spending despite the two year timeline that allows for the objection of illegitimate cost by the Government since it has long expired. An international audit firm and well as local operators are currently looking at the US$7b expenses, but have already missed two deadlines after the Government set a few months for the audits to be completed.
From left: Economist, Mr. Elson Low, PNCR Chairman Mr. Shurwayne Holder, PNCR Leader Mr. Aubrey C. Norton, PNCR General Secretary Dawn Hastings-Williams, and the PNCR Public Relations Officer, Shaneika Haynes.
As time goes by and the oil industry expands, Low said that Guyana will have endless audits with various oil companies. He insisted that “We cannot allow a precedent to be set that a Government can conceal these types of audits.” The Economist said that Guyanese must also demand answers from the Government as to why that are concealing the cost oil audits. He said pressure must be placed on the Government as they “will never release an audit.”
Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton, in addressing the audits and access to oil related information said Opposition is prepared to demand answers and documents from the Government, but it is seeking to do more than that. “We are prepared to increase putting pressure on the Government into a position where they recognize that they need to train Guyanese to be able to audit those (cost oil ) accounts.” Norton said that while the use of foreign expertise is welcomed in this regard, “… one has to develop the capacity of Guyanese to be able to audit, to monitor and to do whatever evaluation is needed, to ensure that we get the most we can in terms of profit from oil deal. Norton said the Opposition is open to any thing that will allow the Guyanese people to benefit more from the natural resources, but oil in particular.
Norton said that the Opposition believes that the PPP/C Government does not believe in accountability and transparency and will do everything to keep the audits a secret he said. “The fact that they have not seeking to improve our capacity to do it (audits) suggests to you that they have nefarious motives.” He said that when there aren’t monitoring, transparency and accountability mechanisms, “…corruption proliferates and this is a Government that likes corruption.”
The Parliamentary Opposition remains adamant that the Government is not putting its best foot forward in ensuring Guyana’s ability to protect its oil wealth despite the country racking up billions of US dollars in oil expense for every project.
Following the recent reading of the 2023 budget, Norton had expressed shock that the Government had set aside no money to up the auditing capacity of local Auditors. “I would have thought that in a Budget like this, the Minister would have been speaking in terms of human resource development, that we have put resources there to improve our capacity to audit cost oil. We would have put resources there to be able to monitor what is happening offshore. There is none of that and therefore, you are not increasing our capacity to ensure we get what we deserve in terms of profit oil,” the Opposition Leader had pointed out. The Opposition party has insisted that Guyana must as soon as possible be able to check its own oil cost bills.
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