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Norton defends Opposition MPs not attending ExxonMobil meetings for oil projects
Kaieteur News- Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton is not convinced that the Members of Parliament (MPs) on that side of the political spectrum would add a stronger layer of scrutiny to ExxonMobil’s project plans.
Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton
During his weekly press engagement on Friday, he was asked the reason for Opposition MPs not attending the meetings held by Exxon across the country and whether he believes that these representatives could add a stronger layer of scrutiny to these projects.
To this end, Norton explained, “Well, I don’t know that the presence of Opposition MPs will add a layer of scrutiny. We have been engaging ExxonMobil as a political institution. In fact, we are scheduled to do another engagement, and our concerns are made there.”
He said that as “a government in waiting”, the Opposition is tasked with ensuring that it operates in a manner that allows them to engage the company to make changes necessary to give Guyanese a better future.
Kaieteur News therefore asked the Leader if he does not believe that by attending the meetings, the Opposition could do more for the country, beyond the closed door meetings with Exxon.
Consequently, he shared, “Well, I believe that Opposition MPs could attend. It is their decision if they want to attend. I do believe if they attend, they can impact the discussion, but I don’t know that their non-attendance affect the discussions.”
Additionally, Norton said that while Opposition MPs may not be present at the meetings, persons affiliated with the Opposition would attend the sessions. According to him, “I must also point out to you that MPs are only one layer of involvement in a political process. There are many people who are involved politically that attend, but not necessarily in their political capacity.”
Last week this newspaper reported that ExxonMobil recently commenced a series of public scoping meetings, specifically geared towards engaging the wider public on its largest offshore development to date, the Longtail project.
A poorly attended public scoping hosted by ExxonMobil
Most citizens are not only unaware of the purpose of these meetings, but have shown a lack of knowledge and keen interest in the ongoing offshore activities. The meetings hosted so far by Exxon have seen no more than a handful of people at various venues. Some were even delayed by as much as an hour as a result of poor attendance.
It was observed that of several meetings attended by this newspaper, no MP from the government or the Opposition side attended.
This has caused concern, especially since these officials are expected to look out for the interests of Guyanese and hold these multinational corporations to account. Instead, citizens with their little knowledge turned out to enquire about the company’s operations and seek answers on impact in some regard, while others were interested in how they can benefit more from opportunities and initiatives funded by Exxon. It should be noted that while the participation from ordinary citizens is crucial to the process, one would expect elected representatives of the people, with more knowledge of the industry, to be in attendance to add another layer of scrutiny to the company.
Further, some citizens may consider the attendance of elected representatives as a confidence booster for them, and that they- the MPs- are seriously engaged in this massive oil sector, especially relative to potential impacts on Guyanese communities.
While the Longtail consultations have now concluded, the operator will commence public meetings this week on the seventh project, Hammerhead.
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