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This oil wealth
Editorial…
Kaieteur News- We often wonder whether this great national oil patrimony matters to all Guyana. Often, Guyanese appear more excited by a slice of pizza, or a bottle of Coca-Cola than they are about oil. Oil, in which every Guyanese are shareholders, is out there, and that’s the sum of their interest. However, Guyanese with money on their minds, and who go about getting more of it, are very interested in oil. They do whatever is required to get the biggest share out of it. But what about the majority of Guyanese, among the most envied citizens globally, where are they with their oil?
ExxonMobil has made public consultations part of its programme, a show of doing its part to keep citizens in the loop on oil developments. A new oil project coming up usually means that ExxonMobil holds public consultations across Guyana. The meaning of the project, the possibilities and, if pushed, the potential problems lurking. We had high expectations when these public consultations started. But, with the passage of time, and a series of these public consultations come and gone, it is a clear that they are a sham, another box ticked in ExxonMobil’s checklist of things that it had to do, and did. But, as a media house, one that is most outspoken about the mismanagement of the nation’s oil wealth, we still send reporters to cover them and get some firsthand insights of what goes on during these public consultations.
One of the first things that strikes us is that there is a lack of interest in the population about new oil developments, such as a pending project, and what ExxonMobil has to say. The attendance at these consultations has been consistently sparse, as though Guyanese are that well set, or have given up on getting the truth, and the best from their wealth. Lack of interest, an absence of serious energy, and conspicuous by the faces that are missing in these public consultations. There is not a whiff of government or opposition presence for the consultations held so far for project number eight, Longtail. Not a single Guyanese Member of Parliament (MP) from any side of the political aisle in sight. The presence of an MP, a local lawmaker, at these ExxonMobil public consultations could do so much for the ordinary citizen.
If a government or opposition MP is in the audience, then Guyanese would get the impression that they are taking the oil seriously. And that they are listening to ExxonMobil’s people, so that they think twice before trying to mislead citizens who don’t know better. And that they are doing what they were elected for, which is to stand with the people, and represent the people. Truth be told, many in Guyana are oil challenged, so they need their elected representatives to be leading the charge with questions and comments during these public consultations. We think that when an MP is present, an additional benefit could come in that those attending would be emboldened to ask their questions, have their say and express their concerns.
Instead, what is conspicuous is how Guyanese are without a champion, and left to the wolves of ExxonMobil who devour them at the public consultations. On a regular day, ExxonMobil has been about circling around and hedging its answers on questions raised on an array of oil issues. When the company officials run out of hedges, they often seek shelter from the tougher issues by referring the media to the government. It doesn’t overly stress the thinking, therefore, to appreciate that when ExxonMobil has a small audience of largely knowledge deficient Guyanese, that those Guyanese would get nothing of substance out of the company. Even the most sluggish MP, if he or she is present, could intervene and press an issue during the public consultations. In effect, they could take on the role of both coach and counsel of those attending.
But government and opposition MPs have bigger fish to fry, their own interests. It is why they can offer so little on the oil, proves how useless they are to the expectant. When government and opposition MPs run for cover, clearly Guyanese are their own with their oil wealth.
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