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Ramjattan scolds Nandlall for “shameless” comments on Court’s ruling for unlimited oil spill guarantee
Kaieteur News – “It is shameless what I am hearing from the Attorney General and it is obvious there is an incestuous relationship now between Exxon and the government of Guyana. It is not a professional arm’s length relationship and so you would have Mr. Nandlall out of all sense and rationality coming to the conclusion that the Courts must not have a say.”
Those were the words of the former Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan who told reporters on Friday that the Court must be able to make decisions regarding the enforcement of the laws of Guyana. Ramjattan, an attorney-at-law and Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC) argued that the oil sector is governed by laws and the Constitution, qual
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC
ifying members of civil society with locus standi to challenge decisions made in the Courts. He therefore reasoned, “You as Attorney General can give your opinion but when the Court rules, you can’t go and say that the Court should not be doing this – ruling on that issue. It is a question of law! Isn’t it the statutes that govern this oil and gas arena and the contract which is also part of something that is amenable to the law?”
Ramjattan further noted, “So when he says that the Honourable Judge Sandil Kissoon does not have the power and the government has the power it shows the deepening autocracy of this government, its desperation; it wants to be the common word I use, control freaks, in even these matters which a Court can rule…It is crazy how they can say that it is government’s prerogative
and not the prerogative of another branch of government.”
Attorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall SC on April 7, 2024 said the Government of Guyana (GoG) must determine the level of protection the country should receive to cover an oil spill and not the Court. High Court Judge, Justice Sandil Kissoon on May 3, 2023 ordered the Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA) to issue an Enforcement Notice to Exxon Mobil to ensure it provides an unlimited oil spill coverage to safeguard Guyana, but the ruling was subsequently appealed by both Exxon and the EPA. The government was not allowed to join the matter. Nandlall is however arguing that the Court should not determine the level of protection the country receives, as the assurance should be the satisfaction of the government. He said the Environmental Protection Act which requires the oil spill insurance says “it must be to the satisfaction of the state.” He therefore made it clear, “This assurance is not to satisfy the judiciary, it is to satisfy the state. Who is in charge of management of the state? The government, so the government has to determine what that insurance or assurance will be.”
Attorney-at-Law and Leader of the AFC, Khemraj Ramjattan
The AG was keen to note that while the EPA is tasked with securing that assurance, “it must be to the standard of the government.” According to his interpretation, this assurance cannot be ‘unlimited’. “You will never get an insurance coverage for a risk that has no limit,” Nandlall said. It must be noted that two citizens are fighting for a signed unlimited parent guarantee, which is a legal document that ties the company to cover all costs associated with a spill; it is not an “unlimited insurance” as referenced by the politician. The Legal Affairs Minister went on to note that the guarantee provided by Exxon does not mean that if an oil spill occurs in the future, the company will not be required to pay beyond the US$2B guarantee that was lodged and the US$600M insurance. “That’s a total misconception,” he said.
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