Nothing but a fraud 

Apr 09, 2024 Editorial

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Kaieteur News – Anthony Vieira could not have said it better: the promise by the PPP/C in the lead up to the 2020 elections to renegotiate the oil contract was nothing but a fraud. Vieira clearly was enticed by the promise just like many others who voted for that party at the last elections. He was also even moved to go a step further by offering himself as a candidate.

Over the years, Vieira- a pioneer in television broadcast here and also one of the most knowledgeable persons locally on the sugar industry has never been one to mix his words. He is consistent in his criticisms of both the PPP/C and the PNCR – both of whom he had in some point in his life tied bundle with as we say in local parlance. His joining of the party of red, black and yellow at the last elections was somewhat surprising, although not many things do surprise Guyanese in the local political sphere. Over the years he has offered sound advice on the management of the sugar industry and in a broader sense the agriculture sector. He is never short on advice for anything developmental- most of which come out of a love for country. Vieira is not hand-to-mouth- looking for a job from the government. There is that deep sense that he wants to help. He wants to be involved in managing their country in whatever way he could. His sober, yet blunt assessment about the present PPP/C regime over the weekend in a letter to the press testifies of a man who has grown tired and frustrated like so many well-meaning Guyanese with this government.

We at this newspaper share some of his sentiments, but we wish to zoom in on his offerings on the management of the nascent oil and gas sector- something which we have taken on somewhat as a project for the good of this nation.

In his letter in which he said that he regretted agreeing to be a PPP/C candidate in 2020. Vieira had this to say: “I am not even going to address the oil industry situation, starting with the complete lack of oversight, monetary controls and enforcement of the PSA provisions weak as they are, which Glen Lall is exposing weekly in his radio programmes, supported by Christopher Ram, Dr. Vincent Adams, Ms. Melinda Janki and others. And then there is GPL!!! Privatize that monster now!! As bad as Guyanese think that GTT is, I go to Trinidad regularly on business and GTT is, in my opinion, as good as if not better than Trinidad and Tobago Telecom’s which is still mostly government owned. But they are smarter than us, the government is the majority shareholder, but the minority shareholder is Cable and Wireless. For some weeks, I have been labouring under the feelings of regret, I am experiencing by agreeing to be a PPP/C candidate in 2020! I read their manifesto, and I heard their promises to renegotiate the ridiculous PSA oil contract. I am now forced to tell the public that I apologise for unknowingly being part of that fraud.”

Behind the resistance to make any changes to the lopsided contract with ExonMobil is Guyana’s Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo- the de facto lead manager of this nation’s oil wealth. While in Opposition the erstwhile former president promised to renegotiate the contract, but has since changed his tune- even denying that he had ever made such a promise- although this newspaper has played tapes with both him and President Irfaan making such promises.

A passionate and almost angry Jagdeo while functioning as Leader of the Opposition, just over three years ago, said in an interview that the then A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition government “sold” the country to “foreigners” because that administration failed to include ring-fencing to shore up profits from the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with American oil giant, ExxonMobil. At that time, Jagdeo assured that when the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) returned to office, this would be a priority when the contract is renegotiated. “They sold us out to the foreigners. The oil companies, every time there is a find out there, our people should be sad because nothing comes our way. We are gonna renegotiate those contracts because that’s not what we had in mind,” Jagdeo said then. He added, “When we were in the early days, we were coaxing the people (ExxonMobil) to go along. They (Coalition) came into office – three billion barrels of proven reserves and they gave up zero royalties, no taxes, no ring-fencing.” Soon after taking office in 2020, the now Vice President (VP) has not only changed his tune but also his tone when it comes to the renegotiation of the Exxon contract and securing greater benefits for Guyanese.

A former President should have the self-respect, the thoughtfulness, to not do this to himself, to represent his people better, all those who trust him so much. A Vice President who is in charge of a country’s riches cannot be this wishy-washy, so cleverly creative, engage in such contortions of himself. No oil minister, which Jagdeo is, should go to the lengths that he does to evade taking any action that has to do with renegotiating the 2016 ExxonMobil oil contract that the company dumped upon this country, and which now rubs the nose of Guyanese into the ground.

He has been a fine example of verbal innovations that weigh down the people of this country with great injustices. First, he came up with the sacred power of sanctity of contract, which means that no approach that would dare to touch ExxonMobil must ever surface. Suddenly, Bharrat Jagdeo has found religion, is a true believer about what is sacred, what should stay in that immaculate state.  This is amazing from someone whose vocabulary never held words like sanctity and sacred in it. It is becoming crystal clear in the skills and strengths that the Vice President deploys to shield ExxonMobil and its profits, and how much he exposes his own Guyanese, and contributes to their ongoing impoverishment.

When sanctity of contract ran into turbulence, Jagdeo regrouped and came up with another gem that he thought was so glittering , it would blind Guyanese, and drive fear into them. It was that if the ExxonMobil oil contract is changed, foreign investors would get as skittish as a horse, and bolt for the exits; or those that were thinking of coming would change their minds, and sit on their money. The reality is that savvy investors would have heard all the noise coming out of Guyana about the one-sided nature of the contract and factored the probability of it being changed into their risk matrix. They would have also heard the criticisms and cautions of foreign experts and people in reputable think tanks, and found a place for those in their own concerns and considerations. With that being said, foreign investors, whether already here or potential, would still conclude that Guyana is a great place to put their money, and among the safest of bets, so rich and sure its prospects are. So, when Jagdeo digs deep, and comes up with these productions, all he does is deliver another dud, a loser of low standing.  This is another revelation of how hard the Vice President labours against going anywhere near the ExxonMobil contract, and doing something about it.

When he failed to scare Guyanese about what sensitive, and much-needed, investors would do, he changed his tune, and composed a new song. His newest symphony is that changing the ExxonMobil contract, even touching it, would destroy the momentum in place. If a non-Guyanese had said this, one would understand. If it was someone who is poor at reading and writing and is out of touch with real life, there could be some sympathy. But Jagdeo is neither, and knows better than to engage in the distortions that dig a deeper hole for himself, that inspire ExxonMobil to assault Guyanese with more economic brutalities, and that leave hopeful citizens in disgust and despair.

Jagdeo was the Opposition Leader who cursed the same oil contract that he now cherishes. Jagdeo was the politician who sang harsh, bitter songs about the ExxonMobil contract that has no place, no standing, among civilized people.  Today, Bharrat Jagdeo sings different songs, his tunes have a sickly sound about them. How and why is ExxonMobil able to bend him six ways to Sunday where this contract is concerned?

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• Anthony Vieira, fraud, party, PNCR, PPP/C

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