Finance Minister Winston Jordan and Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman should both resign from their posts as Government Ministers following the scandal involving the signing bonus from ExxonMobil and the fact that they both misled and deceived the nation into believing that no such bonus existed or was negotiated.
The entire scandal exposes the levels of secrecy, a lack of accountability and transparency, poor governance, and corruption. That the US$18 million negotiated by the Government is not included in the estimates that form the 2018 National Budget is also telling and must be criminal or punishable via our financial laws. What else are these two Ministers hiding with regards to this oil agreement? What are the other clauses that could result in controversy? The ExxonMobil agreement must be made public if these politicians have nothing to hide.
Aside from this dilemma, the Finance Minister also had the temerity to suggest that he had no obligation to be upfront and truthful to the media or nation because he was not asked direct questions. This is ludicrous! He knew what the concerns and allegations that surrounded the agreement. He should have gone above and beyond in his quest to highlight the integrity and transparency with which the deal was renegotiated. Jordan has always been an ill-tempered Minister. This incident exposes just how unsuitable he is for the job. He must be made to resign as this scandal has dealt a serious blow to his integrity and the reputation of the coalition Government in which he serves.
His action means that not only next year’s estimates are incorrect but those for 2016 and 2017 as well as the reports submitted by the Auditor General’s Office and the Bank of Guyana. A Commission of Inquiry (CoI) should be established to further investigate the implications of this attempt to hide billions of Guyana dollars and keep it in a special account.
Minister Trotman also deserves to be disciplined. No defence he mounts will wash the dirt off his hands. He is an accessory to the crime and corruption. He cannot be trusted to negotiate or enter into any future agreements on behalf of the citizens of this country. A full-scale probe must be conducted into the operations of the Natural Resources Ministry. The Alliance For Change (AFC) must distance itself from Trotman’s action and support the CoI and internal probe if it is to survive going under following this scandal.
The entire budget process needs to be revisited. If monies have already been aid, then they must be transferred to the Consolidated Fund. I, like many other Guyanese, feel as though the budget failed to meet my expectations in so many ways. It lacked sound and concrete policies and measures that could really make a short-term impact on the lives of the ordinary man. It did not put more money in their pockets or spell out a clear path to be followed in order to improve their current standard of living.
The A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change Government needs to embark on a period of introspection. These scandals are too many and it involves a lot of secrecy, financial corruption and political spitefulness. President Granger is not providing the leadership this country deserves and expected from him following his victory at the polls in 2015. His inner circle of Ministers is arrogantly unravelling every goal post that he has set and campaigned on. He is being viewed as a President who enters giving long speeches at ceremonial functions. He has to do better. He should reshuffle his Cabinet.
