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For his strong views on renegotiation and ring-fencing Exxon projects Norton boots Patterson from oil portfolio
Kaieteur News – Former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, who was assigned to shadow the Minister of Natural Resources in the National Assembly, is to be reassigned.
He confirmed this with Kaieteur News on Wednesday following a virtual meeting with the Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton on Tuesday.
Patterson was assigned to the portfolio in September 2020. He said he is still unsure of what his new shadow portfolio would be though he suspects he would be placed in Public Works. He said the Opposition Leader indicated that he would be formally updated soon via a correspondence.
The National Assembly is expected to resume on Monday for the presentation of Budget 2024.
Shurwayne Holder, a member of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) is tipped to be the new Shadow Minister of Natural Resources. He became a Parliamentarian in 2020 and was assigned to the Energy, Mining and Telecommunications portfolio along with two other MPs.
Patterson said he was not informed of a reason for the shift but is awaiting the official announcement to share his thoughts.
When asked if he believes his comments do not align with the position of the Opposition, Patterson stated, “No matter what happens I will remain speaking on oil and gas on behalf of the Alliance For Change.”
Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament (MP) was asked whether the Opposition Leader previously expressed concern over statements made by him on the sector. To this end he noted, “We always had a bit of contention, he never raised it with me, he raised it with Khemraj about my questioning renegotiation which were all agreed previously, but he never raised this with me personally, he raised it with Khemraj.”
Patterson said about four other MPs will be reshuffled.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Alliance For Change, Khemraj Ramjattan said he does not believe the changes will affect the MPs ability to scrutinize any of the sitting Ministers or MPs.
“I do not regard it in any event that someone from his (Norton’s) party is going to speak on oil that is going to deny in any way, or we must expect Patterson not to speak on oil. We are there, and our points can be made in fact, if questions have to be asked, they will be asked,” he said.
Ramjattan reasoned that even though he was not assigned to Public Security, he still asked questions to the subject minister occasionally in the House.
Meanwhile, as it regards concerns raised by Norton pertaining to statements made by Patterson, Ramjattan noted, “He may have been concerned. Sometimes he gets concerned about statements I make. We are always concerned sometimes about each other’s statements. We might want to disagree on how it is put, the tone it is put, and so on but we have to allow a liberality of views and that is how I draw it out to my AFC people and also that is the distinctness I want to bring out in the partnership…where there is an organization of men and women you will have disagreements.”
The AFC has publicly stated its support for a renegotiation of the 2016 oil contract with ExxonMobil. The APNU however has a different view on the matter. While Norton believes in engaging the company for greater benefits for the country, he previously expressed reservations about the term ‘renegotiation’.
The APNU and AFC also share different views with regard to ring-fencing the Stabroek Block projects.
Be that as it may, Ramjattan told this newspaper he does not recall the Leader raising any concerns with him in this regard.
Efforts by this newspaper to contact the Leader of the Opposition on Wednesday were unsuccessful.
- Aubrey Norton, David Patterson, Former Minister of Public Infrastructure, Khemraj Ramjattan, Leader of the Alliance For Change, Opposition Leader
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