Govt. and Opposition should present oil plans simultaneously

Mar 07, 2024 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

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H@rd Truths by GHK Lall

Kaieteur News – There is an understanding of protecting trade secrets, keeping valuable proprietary information under lock and key.  The names of key people who contribute to a blueprint of potentially groundbreaking developments being held under tight wrap is also given a nod of approval.  Having said all this, I still think that Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Aubrey Norton, is too tight, and could do better.  This is even within the narrow confines with which he is forced to operate.

For starters, no politician, no person, with his head still on, would want to deliver on a platter what gives the competition an edge.  I wouldn’t.  The PPP is competition, a bitter and formidable competitive presence, an often criminal one.  Hence, there is the continuing need for maintaining guard.  The PPP is also the government of the day, so it should be taking the lead in sharing with the Guyanese electorate, the entire citizenry for that matter, the nature and extent of its oil and gas plans.

Where are those, may I ask, other than the esteemed and omniscient Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, holding court in his durbar on Thursdays with his tidbits, and most of which time is spent hurling curses at perceived enemies, including Mr. Norton? The PPP Government is leading the oil and gas charge, is in full charge of it, so the prime responsibility to disclose its plans lands there.  Again, where are those plans is the question asked.

This, however, does not let Opposition Leader Norton off the hook.  In my humble consideration, he still has a duty to share with this nation some of what he and his team of experts and advisers finalized as their vision for this most prized of national sectors.  It should be noted that I limited myself to ‘some’ of what he has in hand.  The broad outlines that do not reveal too much detail, that do not giveaway anything.  I think that that would be helpful, for it gives a glimpse into what the opposition has, confirms that it has done some heavy studies and hard work.  That what is has provides, food for thought.  This could go a far way in persuading Guyanese that the opposition and its leader (and team) are all worth listening to, and not blowing smoke.  Sharing some of what the opposition has its merits.  It could even put the PPP Government and Bharrat Jagdeo (he is the PPP Government) on the back foot.

To say this differently, we have something and there is willingness to share some of it, so what does the PPP Government have?  I do have a qualifier, though, that I think should be part of the tactics of any opposition in the public disclosure of any oil and gas plans.  The government has to go first, take the first step, make the first delivery.  If that sounds one-sided, it isn’t.  Because this fella Jagdeo is such a seasoned and cunning operator, I would not advance anything to him.  What I would recommend to the Opposition Leader is that he challenges Jagdeo to bring his oil and gas plans.  After all, vision and strategy are in his hands, and he should have both documented (not just in his jammed head) and put them on the table.  The opposition would simultaneously do the exact same thing.  In this way, the two groups both get to have the fullest view of what the other has, through a side-by-side review and comparison. In cordial circumstances, there could be an exchange of constructive commentaries from both sides. Such action by both the government and the opposition would prove that each side has something that measures up as reasonable and competent oil and gas plans.  Instead of hollering at one another, trying to out-macho one another, and bring down one another, I urge that there be thinking of what putting heads together could mean, where it could lead.

Long and loud have been the laments about lack of capacity in many sectors, especially the fledgling fossil fuels sector.  It would represent a signal to the Guyanese people that, though capacity is at the state that it is, there is still doing our best (putting heads together) to get the best (possibly reengineered visions, and refined plans) out of what we have.  When the PPP Government and the Opposition (whatever its composition) look at their plans in a matrix situation, much learning and growing could be possible.  I will be the first to admit that I am speaking about what my fellows may dismiss as a different world.  I insist that it is not a perfect one, but one that is, at least more mature, more discerning of the great gift and the great responsibilities that reside in the hands of the leaders of this nation.  The Vice President has proven his glaring limitations, has nothing to show on oil, beside rantings. It is why he always try to wiggle, worm, and weasel his way out of tight corners, and hard questions with jargon and hogwash that is conspicuous in its paltriness for Guyanese.

Finally, I am flexible on naming the eight members of the opposition’s oil and gas team.  I would hold back a few names, the ones that are aces. Instead of this cat-and-mouse game, both the PPP Government (Jagdeo), and the opposition should present their plans for this sector. Together.  Simultaneously.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

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• GHK Lall, Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Aubrey Norton, operate

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