Better contract management, info flows 

Apr 03, 2025 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

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Hard Truths…

By GHK Lall

Kaieteur News- Frankly, I am disappointed at the people in the Oil and Gas Governance Network (OGGN).  Being the bright, ethical people that they are, they ought to know better than to seek clarity and transparency from the PPP Government.  On anything.  And, when it comes to the oversight of oil, it is the worst thing that one could ask of such illustrious examples of truth, transparency, and trustworthiness, as those in the PPP Government.

There is President Ali, Senior Vice President Jagdeo, and Junior Vice President Texeira.  What is there about this oil that drives Guyanese to such intensity?  Information, information, information!  Have these people at OGGN never heard about better contract management and transparency?  Whether they do or not, that is the reality.  For Guyanese chasing after information, here is the PPP Government’s version of both.

The latest instance is from 3^rd Vice President, Gail Texeira.  In response to OGGN’s push for tax receipts related to Exxon, the honourable one sent them packing to the Deeds and Commercial Registries.  Want tax info, take a trip from New York, brave the traffic in Georgetown, and good luck.  The OGGN folks may take offence, but I call that responsive government, responsible leadership, and transparent practice.  For their information, the public servants at the two registries are waiting.  I caution that getting tax details from either of the two could be the same ordeal as lifting a piece of paper about the oil and gold sectors from the Guyana Revenue Authority and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission.

The government is in a pickle about sharing tax receipt documents with OGGN, but the whole of Guyana can be privy to the tax details of Dr. Terrence Campbell.  A bit of glaring consistency, reasonable people would say.  I detect an indescribable, unmentionable smell. Before the vaunted PPP veteran, there was His Majesty and Excellency, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, who was asked about Exxon Guyana financials.  “If you want to have that, why don’t you submit in writing to Exxon, ask them…”  If there is one thing to be said about Guyana, let it be said to be a town of unbelievable hospitality.  It is freedom of information by another means, and nothing redacted.  One of Dr. Jagdeo’s favorite moves is to send the media on wild goose chases.  Check with Minister Vickram Bharat (gold contracts).  Check with the GRA (audits and sundries).  Check with PM Mark Phillips (Wales gas-to-energy project docs).  This must be a free and open society.

Going further back, just before the beginning of this PPP reign, there was Contestant Ali.  When Candidate Ali was on the elections trail, and was attacked by some malarial strain, he committed to “review and renegotiate” everything under Guyana’s skies.  The 2016 Exxon contract was at the top of his pile of contract papers.  After his swearing in, the newly minted President Ali was made to see the light, and converted to the religion of Exxon: sanctity of contract.’  Sanctity is now his one-word, all-purpose answer to all things oil.  Seek to extract any information from him about oil and he becomes more closemouthed than a department store mannequin.  Additionally, he has developed a marked disposition against dealing with Guyanese face-to-face on the troubling issues bedeviling his government.  The president prefers the safety and comforts of social media.  Sanctity of contract is the stuck position of Excellency Ali.  For someone who was so beside himself over Guyana getting a raw deal, it is strange that today he has zero interest in communicating with Exxon for a better deal for Guyana.  For those who wanted information, that was the dead end (“no interest”) encountered.  It is Dr. Ali’s idea about better contract management, and clear information flows.  It is his version of transparency.  Guyanese are free to put their confidence in a leader of such caliber.  I gave myself an exemption.  One of these days when the spirit moves me, I plan to write a book about all of this.  The president and those other names mentioned will all have starring roles.

A country, that is a beginner in the oil world, has leaders who have been made into mincemeat by a light-middleweight like Alistair Routledge.  Because of being in that state, they can’t help the people they supposedly serve, are themselves helpless.  The American transformed them into puppets, messenger boys, and what is now a certain Venezuelan’s favourite slur – stooge.  By way of clarification, I could have let Mr. Routledge have it straight on the noggin, but the discipline of the Lenten season is in effect.  I settled for light-middleweight and not light-flyweight.

In all this, it is fascinating to observe local political luminaries, such as Ali, Jagdeo, and now Ms. Texeira got their tongues all twisted out of joint and their spirits agitated over routine requests for information about Guyana’s oil.  None of them are known to have a speech impediment, or a problem with the sauce.  Yet a simple request for Exxon tax receipts stirred so much anxiety (and slurred speech) in the PPP Government.  Still, I believe that OGGN’s sages will have the last laugh.  They are on record.  The PPP Government is on record also: For dodging.  For hiding.  For being under the sheets with Exxon.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)                       

 

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