VP Jagdeo gives a glimmer of hope

Jul 27, 2024 Letters

Dear Editor,

At his Thursday’s Press Conference, VP Jagdeo gave what is probably the most hopeful indication of the government’s intention to assert some control over Exxon, rather than conceding to the company’s every request, whim and fancy.

I am in New York to speak at an OGGN activity in which I will present the case that the PPP/C has sacrificed the country’s sovereignty to the notion that sanctity of contract of contract is an absolute principle of law. I will argue that it requires a very special and limited set of circumstances for sanctity of contract to ever trump national sovereignty. Even in the best of circumstances that would be a challenge, and certainly those circumstances do not exist in relation to what Jagdeo himself has described as a flawed 2016 Agreement. To access the presentation live, please go to www.oggn.org/event.

Mr. Jagdeo’s actual words were: “So first of all, there is an assumption that there will be a seventh project. So, we will get the application soon and at that time, the government will determine through two permits, one the licence and then the environmental permit, how it will deal with all of these issues.”

Even as I revise my presentation to take account of this glimmer of hope, Mr. Jagdeo would be well advised that the 2016 agreement gives the government, through the Minister of Petroleum, the power to set conditions under which a license is granted. Those conditions are not limited to technical or environmental matters but would also include ring fencing. That would immediately increase government’s take from the project which is a minimum that Guyanese have been pleading for.

Mr. Jagdeo must now show that his latest remarks are no smokescreen or idle threat.

Christopher Ram

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Christopher Ram, governments, Press Conference, special, VP Jagdeo

Latest News