Ram blasts political parties for silence and inaction on injustices of ExxonMobil oil deal

Sep 14, 2024 News

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“By their silence and inaction, every major political party in Guyana has become complicit in this grand ceding of our national rights and resources. They have collectively failed to uphold the fundamental principle that a government’s primary duty is to protect the country’s resources and to advance the interests of its citizens.”- Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram.

Kaieteur News – Chartered Accountant and prominent Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram has blasted the political parties in Guyana for failing to protect the country’s resources and advance the interests of citizens through their deafening silence and inaction on the lopsided oil deal with American super major, ExxonMobil.

Ram in his weekly column, ‘Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded’ published in Friday’s edition of the Stabroek News, explored the role of the existing political groups in the country.

The Lawyer informed readers in his 136^th publication, “From all of them – the (People’s National Congress Reform) PNC-R, the (Alliance For Change) AFC, ANUG (A New and United Guyana) and the (Working Peoples’ Alliance) WPA – there is a silence that is not only disappointing and deafening but amounts to a collective surrender of our sovereignty by the entire political establishment.”

Ram told readers that the collective failure to challenge the 2016 Agreement is a de facto endorsement of the surrender of Guyana’s sovereignty.

“By their silence and inaction, every major political party in Guyana has become complicit in this grand ceding of our national rights and resources. They have collectively failed to uphold the fundamental principle that a government’s primary duty is to protect the country’s resources and to advance the interests of its citizens,” he said.

More troubling however, the groups show no interest in Article 31.2 of the Petroleum Agreement which allows Guyana to ask for any amendment or modification, the Attorney-at-Law pointed out.

He argued that the PPP’s dramatic shift from promising to “review and renegotiate” the deal to now parroting the legal term “sanctity of contract” is equivalent to a stab in the back for the country. “This phrase has become their shield, a convenient excuse for inaction, a dereliction of duty and a betrayal of the national interest,” Ram said.

The Attorney-at-Law however made it clear that there is no sanctity in an agreement that fails to protect the interests of the Guyanese people. In fact, he pointed out that the only thing sacred should be a nation’s right to benefit fully from its natural resources.

To this end, Ram explained, “This misplaced reverence for a flawed contract is not just misguided – it’s a dangerous ceding of our national sovereignty. By treating the 2016 Agreement as untouchable, our leaders have effectively handed over control of our resources to foreign corporations. They have prioritised the interests of ExxonMobil and its partners over the wellbeing of the Guyanese people.”

He continued, “The stability clause represents a surrender of our right to adapt our laws and regulations to changing circumstances and national needs. This seems more like subjugation rather than sanctity. It ignores the fundamental principle of fairness in international law.”

Ram explained that the petroleum world is replete with cases in which countries have successfully renegotiated oil contracts when circumstances have changed, or when the original terms were found to be against their national interest. As such, the Lawyer argued that the failure of leaders in Guyana to even consider this option is a dereliction of their duty to protect the country’s interests.

Turning his readers’ attention to the main political opposition party, the PNC/R, Ram noted that the leader, Aubrey Norton is yet to announce a sound position.

“The Party seems bankrupt of ideas, bankrupt of expertise and bankrupt of courage in what is clearly the most important issue facing the country now and for the next thirty years. Their current leader’s apparent ignorance of the agreement’s details is an indictment of the Party’s fitness to govern. Such willful ignorance is not just embarrassing; it’s a dangerous abdication of their role as the opposition, failing to provide the necessary checks and balances our democracy requires,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ram opined that the WPA’s myopic focus on cash transfers without addressing the fundamental inequities of the agreement is a betrayal of their revolutionary heritage and a sad spectacle of a party that once fought for true independence.

His view on the AFC is that the party seems hamstrung by the election of Nigel Hughes as its Leader, who is in another role, the Attorney-at-Law for all three of the contractors – Exxon, Hess and CNOOC. “Hughes has made it clear that he has no intention to give up his professional relationship, adding that he would not seek to influence the Party’s position. While barely acceptable, it is surely unfortunate that the Leader is unable to lead in such in critical sector of the economy,” Ram stated.

Most silent amongst the political parties is ANUG, Ram pointed out, whose Leader is also an Attorney-at-Law.

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• Contract, ExxonMobil, natural resources, parties, political, Ram

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