Glenn Lall slams Jagdeo for repetitive news conferences

Aug 05, 2024 News

– says VP failing to address key issues in oil sector, other serious national concerns   

Kaieteur News – Businessman and civil society advocate, Glenn Lall has criticised Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo for what he described as his repetitive weekly press conferences as well as his failure to address key issues within the oil and gas sector and other matters of national concern.

Businessman, Glenn Lall

During an edition of his weekly radio programme last week, the businessman called out the VP on the repetitive nature of his weekly press conferences saying that, “Last week, he had a 2-hour Press Conference, I didn’t play it because is the same dhal on the fire, he just keep ‘gotaying’ it, stirring and stirring.”

He added that the only topics the VP seems to be interested in on a weekly basis are the “12 new hospitals, Rickford Burke, Kaieteur News, letter writers, columnists, roads, schools, Nigel Hughes, the media, opposition never got a plan, bridges, PNC, the usual things, and not a single word about the biggest things – our oil and gold, and when he is asked by reporters, is like you light a fire under his cushion.”
Jagdeo, the chief policymaker of the oil and gas sector has repeatedly stonewalled questions in this area posed to him by this newspaper. Lall highlighted the recent series of questions Jagdeo was asked by this publication and the opposition on the documents for the Gas-to-Shore Project; when it will be laid in parliament for the public to see it. “Every week, Kaieteur News asking Bharat Jagdeo when he is going to make public or put the project documents in Parliament, he sending the reporters to Gail Teixeira and she said she ain’t know anything about that.

He sends them to Vickram Bharrat, he too has nothing to say…” Noting that Jagdeo is hiding the documents, Lall said, “because of the gangsterism that wrapped up in that US$3B project.” The businessman noted that while Jagdeo seems enthusiastic about the project, he gets upset, “so cold when questions are asked of him to show the proof that it will become the electricity saviour for Guyana.”

Lall who is also publisher of this newspaper, believes the project will amount to a white elephant given the astronomical increase in cost. He reasoned, “No feasibility study, no Press Conference on this subject matter, price doubled and it is still feasible; Jagdeo plug that feasible out of thin air. That’s another white elephant that will hang Guyanese for the so-called cheap electricity.”

Lall said that another instance of the VP’s failure to be transparent is with updating the Guyanese public with the current state of the country’s oil reserves. Kaieteur News has spent the last two years asking for an update for the nation. Lall said, “Look this man, when he was asked and asked about how much barrels of new oil EM found in the 8 discoveries they made recently, he first told the nation the discoveries were substantial, but not significant. The second answer he gave, he said ExxonMobil is busy pumping making money from the oil and they do not have time to count up how much barrels they found.  The third thing he said, to count up is a long process…”

Lall went on to explain to his audience that it was not until an international analytics company S&P Global put the country’s estimated reserves at almost 19B barrels, and this publication again enquired that the VP promised to update the public in a week’s time.  “Well, a foreign company threw a bone to us with the total figure of 19B barrels.  When Kaieteur News found the article and published that story, and Jagdeo had nowhere to run or hide, he threw out a statement saying within a week, he is going to tell us, a week has come and gone and we are still waiting for him to release the figures, telling us how much oil Exxon has found to date ,” Lall added.

• Glen Lall, issues, Jagdeo, oil deal, repetitive