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Leaders have a responsibility to present what Guyana offers to the World not to Guyanese – President Ali
Kaieteur News – With Guyana positioning itself to be a global leader in the energy, climate and food sectors, President Irfaan Ali said leaders and the citizens of the country should be presenting what the country offers to the world, rather than Guyanese.
President Irfaan Ali during his address in Canada
He gave the charge on Saturday evening while delivering an address at the La Primavera Banquet Hall in Ontario, Canada. President Ali was on a three-day visit to the state and is expected to be back in Guyana today.
During his presentation, the Head of State focused on the country’s development and the investment opportunities that await the diaspora in Canada.
Ali explained, “I am not here to sell Guyana. A journalist asked me how would you sell Guyana, we don’t need to sell Guyana. What we need to do is to talk about Guyana. Guyana is already creating its own path but we as leaders, we as citizens, we have an obligation to present what Guyana offers to the World; not what Guyana offers to Guyanese but what Guyana offers to the World.”
He added that this is important since it is his view that the country’s prosperity must not lead to “arrogance” but rather, to a “deeper understanding of our responsibility in this World”.
The Head of State went on to note that a deep understanding is what is required for Guyanese to make the World better and more so for the country’s prosperity to be shared with every citizen of the World.
“A deep understanding of what is required of us to make this world a better place, what is required of us to achieve shared prosperity for every citizen of the world and I say to you this evening that we in Guyana we will be part of a new global system and we will establish our credentials and we will be part of the solution and not the problem,” he shared while receiving a round of applause from the audience.
Ali said in all three of the crises that policy makers across the world are faced with; including energy, climate and food, there will be no conversation on those matters without Guyana being mentioned as part of the solution.
The President’s statement on leaders’ responsibility to offer what Guyana has to the World, rather than Guyanese would cause concern especially since its existing agreement with oil giant, ExxonMobil extends greater fiscal benefits to that company instead of the country. Despite the administration being aware of the flawed terms embedded in the deal, it still refuses to change the contract.
Raphael Trotman, the former Minister of Natural Resources who inked the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) on behalf of Guyana in 2016 has said that the contract can be renegotiated. He also pledged his support for changes to the lopsided agreement.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has however refused Trotman’s support and has since made it clear that the contract will not be renegotiated.
Only on Sunday last, Kaieteur News reported that Director of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), Tom Sanzillo has called on Guyanese to fight back against the government on the lopsided oil deal.
Sanzillo pointed out during a panel discussion that the Guyanese government have not only refused to renegotiate the Stabroek Block contract, but also allows lax enforcement of the laws governing the sector to continue. As such, he urged that it is now up to Guyanese to fight back.
“The willingness of the government to participate in this is something that does need to be addressed but it’s not going to change because they’ve made it clear that this is the plan, and the plan will be to allow lax enforcement, to allow this really lopsided fiscal deal to continue…the people of Guyana really in terms of their government, they had better learn how to fight back because we have seen what happens when they don’t,” the Financial Analysis noted.
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