Guyanese must show what they are made of

Feb 19, 2023 Editorial

Kaieteur News – During the latter portion of its time as the official political Opposition in Guyana, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPPC) tore apart, trampled upon the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (contract) signed by the APNU+AFC Coalition with ExxonMobil.

The PPPC rightly never had a good word, any decent one, to say about the contract. Not when it was in Opposition, not when it came back into power in August 2020. Any insult imaginable was hurled at the oil contract in the early months of the PPPC by its public speakers, either before the media, or in parliament. The listening crowds of Guyanese, especially the party’s followers, roared their approval, cheered in support, and stomped their feet in waves of delicious joy.

Today, in 2023, the same 2016 oil contract is back like never before. What is stunning these days is that it is the same PPPC that is now the most enthusiastic cheerleader, the loudest defender, of that ugly contract, that is so disfiguring to Guyanese interests, now or later. The men in the PPPC who once went crazy whenever the issue of the 2016 contract came up, are now as docile as lambs, as passive as dogs tamed and groomed by Dog Whisperer, Cesar Milan. Something went wrong with the PPPC’s biggest powerhouses, when renegotiation of that ExxonMobil contract is pushed to centerstage.

In fact, to speak of the renegotiation that they so loudly, powerfully, and repeatedly committed to, is to bring down the wrath of false gods on one’s heads. In the eyes of a furious PPPC Government leadership, any Guyanese having the audacity to call for renegotiation is an unforgivable enemy, the worst agitators and troublemakers. Further to this astonishing turnaround in attitude and political attributes, Guyanese are being incited to turn against their fellow Guyanese who press for a better oil deal.

Time will tell how this leadership appeal, a raw instigation would be more accurate, sits with Guyanese, who now find themselves trapped between a rock and a hard place. No one envies them the tough choices forced upon them. Because to choose the wrong side, to stand against the PPPC’s treacherous call, would transform them into the worst of hypocrites, when there is recalling of their shouts of joy at the time that the contract was stripped naked and mercilessly flogged by their leaders.

The trouble is that if the Guyanese being urged to speak out were to take the principled position that: 1) the contract is bad, as demonized; 2) it was promised to be renegotiated, meaning, enhanced; and 3), therefore, that must follow as a matter of course. First as proof of the PPPC Government’s genuineness; second, and importantly, as a testament to the quality of the government’s leadership truths and commitments; and, last, for what is good for all Guyana.

In this heated environment, Guyanese have the opportunity to prove what comes first: political loyalty above all (regardless of the facts and circumstances), or the kind of national prosperity that benefits all, and contributes immensely to a healthier, vigorous, and dignified nation. We recognize that this is a difficult situation, especially considering our political history, and its damaging fallouts into the social stream, with the inevitable passions and distortions at the individual level.

Undoubtedly, some handfuls of Guyanese have tasted oil benefits through jobs, sectoral education, and commercial opportunities, all prospering. Those must be appreciated, applauded. The truth is they are too few, and the oil benefits net too narrow. Guyanese by the thousands (tens, hundreds of them) remain largely unaffected, unimpacted in a positive way by the presence of 11 billion barrels of oil. It is our position that this should not be, with proper consideration for contract inheritance, honoring agreements, fears about consequences, and so forth. Wise renegotiation, courageous political leadership, fair benefits expectations, and the will to make material developments occur are what lifts us out of impoverishment, takes us to the prosperous ground that is our birthright.

Today is the day, the first day, in which Guyanese across his country get to articulate their true visions, what they really

stand for and how much they are for country or party. This is notwithstanding leadership incitements in the other direction.

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APNU+AFC coalition, Editorial, ExxonMobil, Guyanese, People’s Progressive Party Civic

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