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Pres. Ali gives no timeline for Petroleum Commission
…but says Govt. should not strong-arm oil sector
Kaieteur News – Three years after taking office the Irfaan Ali Government is yet to fulfill one its elections campaign promise- to establish a Petroleum Commission. This commitment to Guyanese in the PPP/C’s manifesto should have been done shortly after taking office. And after being in office for three years it cannot provide any timeline for this to be done.
President Irfaan Ali
President Ali held a press conference on Wednesday, during which he spent over an hour outlining achievements of the administration. However, no mention was made of the Petroleum Commission in his opening statement. The institution would provide a much needed layer of protection, guarding the oil and gas sector from the tentacles of political control. When asked what has held the government back from establishing the Commission, the President said there have been no humbugs, but that the issue is a complex one which has to be carefully examined.
“The new bill has to be very comprehensive. That’s to take a lot of new circumstances into consideration. It’s very important that every stakeholder and every view is taken on board, so the bill will be one that is responsive of the whole national view that surrounds the sector itself,” the President said.
He was also asked whether he believes, in the early stages of the oil sector’s development, that the government should have a strong arm in the management of the sector beyond a policymaking level. This strong arm has been the practical effect of the government’s slothfulness in establishing the Commission.
Ali refused such insinuations, arguing that he does not believe the government should have a strong arm in anything. “We want high levels of transparency and accountability. That is why we have taken an arm’s-length approach in terms of many aspects, whether it is the Sovereign Wealth Fund and different aspects of the industry itself,” the President said.
He explained that in much of the government’s work, it has sought the counsel of international consultants. He stressed that these are people who have the experience. “So I don’t see the government as taking a strong arm, even in our normal course of business. I see the government as a facilitator of growth and development.”
He expressed that government should not be in the “business of business”, but only in the “business of facilitating business”.
Meanwhile, when the same question is put to Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, he is often dismissive, arguing that there are countries around the world that are still corrupt even though they have such commissions to manage the oil sector. Even as he steps over the fact that it was the governing administration that promised and argued for a Petroleum Commission in the run-up to the 2020 General and Regional Elections, the government continues to evade calls to provide a timeline for the establishment of this commission.
Kaieteur News has demonstrated that with the configuration of the Petroleum Activities Bill, which vastly expands the powers of political hands in the oil sector, the PPP/C government’s promise of a Petroleum Commission is nothing but a pipe dream.
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