Arrogance…

…and ignorance
Some folks might’ve thought your humble Eyewitness has been a tad too tough on Raphael Trotman, Minister of Natural Resources, ever since he went to represent us at COP 21 in Paris, back in Dec 2015. His performance there was so inept one could be forgiven for assuming he was actually there to sabotage the efforts made over the past decade by Bharrat Jagdeo on the issue of Climate Change and Global Warming!
With the benefit of hindsight, some are excusing his bumbling, claiming he was distracted because he was actually grooming one of his assistants in “Gay Paree”! But not your Eyewitness. Trotman was just not ready for the big leagues – but you wouldn’t have guessed from his bombastic utterances. It is said that “pride cometh before a fall” so your Eyewitness always figured Trotman would topple. But because of the position into which he was parachuted because of “Nassau”, sadly, he’s also brought Guyana into disrepute.
Back in the day when Trotman announced he was going to “renegotiate” the 1999 contract with Exxon, your Eyewitness pointed out the arrogance of the man thinking he could play poker with one of the best legal teams in the world. One which had just faced down the US Justice Department. To those fellas, Trotman was lower on the pecking order than a hick lawyer from Kalamazoo!
And so said, so done! From the revelations of the US$18 million bonus, it’s clear the Texas lawyers made Trotman drop his pants when HE was supposed to be in the driver’s seat. Trotman didn’t know his ass from his elbow on the oil business, but like most big fishes in small ponds, refused to accept he was out of his depth. Signing bonuses come AFTER the oil is found, and it’s basically a way to get monies up front rather than extracting higher royalties and profit-splits later on production.
With a measly US$18 million bonus on a 3 billion-barrel field, 2% royalty and 50% profits – which includes paying the 35% taxes for Exxon on its profits! – Trotman made us lose corn and husk. This from a man who had initiated the conversation on getting revenues up front from Exxon!! But the question remains as to how exactly Exxon’s Texan lawyers were able to get Trotman to drop his pants and give away OUR store.

…and the Constitution
Some are surprised that Trotman and Jordan (and God knows who else in the Government!) broke the constitutional directive of Article 216, that all monies collected on behalf of the Government MUST be placed in the Consolidated Fund. It’s clear there are still some so blind they would not see – or are too naïve for their own good.
Since when has the Constitution been a barrier to this government doing whatever the heck it wants to do? Didn’t you hear President Granger’s Doctrine of constitutional interpretation, Dear Reader? His PERCEPTION is as good as the COURTS!! Remember the directive to the PSC? The unilateral appointment of the GECOM Chair? The riposte to the National Trust on the Soylent greening of State House…etc…etc…
Dictatorships don’t spring up overnight like Jumbie Umbrellas: they are constructed, violation by violation of the rule of law, in full view of a citizenry who are too partisan or apathetic to protest.
Every day we witness the edifice of the dictatorship rising!

…on money laundering
Your Eyewitness is waiting for some expert in the AML/CFT Act to say why the secreting of the US$18 million bonus wasn’t money laundering.
And whether SOCU, which seized some used computers from the Enmore NDC, shouldn’t chase after Trotman!