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Jagdeo on renegotiation – No, No, No

Jul 05, 2023 Editorial

Kaieteur News – Whatever Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said before, he is not standing for anymore.  Before the Vice President was about renegotiation, today he is about rejection of any such conversation, even when Guyana stands a chance of coming out ahead.  Even marginally would be better than where this country is today, when the paltriness of the 2016 oil contract between Guyana and ExxonMobil, as signed by the then Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, is weighed and measured in all of its hemorrhaging terms and conditions.

It is the same Guyanese signatory to the ExxonMobil contract, Raphael Trotman, who has today come out in support of renegotiation of the contract that he signed binding all Guyanese.  After an extended silence of seven empty years, Mr. Trotman has made his position as clear as day: he stands ready to lend a shoulder-to-shoulder presence and a strong voice for any moves that have renegotiation for more benefits as a primary objective.

Remarkably and regrettably, the man spearheading the charge in Guyana’s oil sector would have none of that, dismisses with a casual wave, any call, any appeal, or any push for renegotiation.  In view of his steely stance, Guyana’s oil czar Jagdeo has drawn his line in the sand: no renegotiation today, no renegotiation tomorrow, no renegotiation forever.  Not if he has his way, and even then, it will have to be over his unconscious and motionless body.  When the Vice President, in whose hands has been trusted the great and incomparable responsibilities for management of the nation’s oil sector, is of such of stubbornly made-up mind, then not a single citizen of this country should have any doubts anymore on just about anything related to the nation’s oil patrimony.

There can and should no longer be no doubt about whose interests come first for Jagdeo.  No to renegotiation means he is not for Guyana.  No to renegotiation for better contract provisions, no matter how small, confirms how much Jagdeo has abandoned Guyana. No to renegotiation evidence how much Jagdeo has distanced from his own prior hard postures about how the Coalition APNU+AFC (as captured via the signature of Raphael Trotman) has harmed and devastated Guyana’s promised prosperity.  No to renegotiation of the obscene ExxonMobil contract screams and shouts about how completely Jagdeo has reversed course, and in which camp his feet are planted, and his head fastened.

One would think that the nuanced endorsement of renegotiation from Trotman would present two powerful openings for Jagdeo.  The first would be to bash and smash both Trotman and his Coalition APNU+AFC for an incredible and unforgiving failure.  Bharrat Jagdeo, being the foxy political creature that he is, would never let such an opportunity go to waste.  But, given the surprising and meaningful position of Raphael Trotman in 2023, Bharrat Jagdeo, now in the driver’s seat, has a rare opportunity to push ahead for renegotiation of the contract.  Though it is unclear if Trotman speaks for the PNC, a bright and sensible political leader would be quick to detect that the time has arrived for a unified and solidified front to press for renegotiation of the 2016 ExxonMobil contract.

ExxonMobil is powerful, and it also is the owner of deep reservoirs of astuteness.  Said differently, ExxonMobil is well-equipped to think on its feet and detect what could be a powerful development of much significance relative to the contract staying as it is.  A united Guyana is something to be feared, given what such could mean for the contract being nationally resisted.  ExxonMobil is well aware of the thick rage of growing numbers of Guyanese across the stormy political divide against its exploitative contract.  The company has to be privy to the harsh sentiments of citizens who are disgusted with the contract terms, and who have lost patience with the guiles and dodges of Jagdeo.  Citizens recognize how their own are against their own interests, sabotaging their own collective destiny.  Daily, Jagdeo is looking like a lesser bet, a weaker and poorer champion, for Guyana.

Somewhere along the line, this contract is going to have to be renegotiated.  The longer Jagdeo stands in the way, the more likely that he will lose big for doing so.

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