Dear Editor,
I recall quite vividly that President Irfaan Ali, in his maiden address to the National Assembly, did make a commitment to publish the particulars of all revenue and expenditure of Guyana’s oil sector in the Official Gazette. And true to this commitment, this was done. In perusing the news, I noted that the Government published all the data on earnings from the oil & gas sector, and this must be commended, as too many have already become accusers and judges of the current Administration, and this with nothing to go on.
In terms of a breakdown of all oil revenues deposited into the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) to date, the Government made public its first notification of receipts from proceeds as per the Natural Resource Fund Act which came into effect last December. So, in “Pursuant to Section 33(2) of the Natural Resource Fund Act 2021, notification (was) given of the receipts of all petroleum revenues paid into the Natural Resource Fund, during the period from 01-Jan-2022 to 31-Mar-2022…” This means that the public can now read the notice from the April 25, 2022 Official Gazette, that was laid in the National Assembly. As I see it, it is that “As at the end of March 2022, the Bank of Guyana had the total amount in the NRF pegged at US$719,525,975.50.”
At the time of this maiden address, the President did expound that “The revenues from the sector, like all other sectors, are the peoples’ money; they are entitled to know how much money is earned, how much is spent and on what it is spent,” and this official declaration, accessible to all, proves that there is nothing untoward happening within this sector. Yet many are preaching, without evidence, that ‘all is not fair and transparent.’
Let’s recall that this kind of act is in keeping with the Government’s commitment to transparency and accountability in its management of the country’s oil and gas resources. How different all of this is when contrasted with what the APNU/AFC did at the very onset of happenings within this all-important oil and gas sector. I speak here in terms of the US$18 million signing bonus from ExxonMobil for close to two years.
We all remember the acts of subterfuge of Former Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, who after a few years of pressure, had to ‘save face’ and so he “… doubled down on his previous (initial) expressed public position, that the US$18M had from ExxonMobil Guyana in 2016, when his administration inked a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), was a gift and not a signing bonus, and that the administration was in fact misled by the negotiator.” Yet he could not name this negotiator. He further embarrassed himself by his attempt at extenuation when he detailed that “… US$15M of that money was earmarked for the border case between Guyana and Venezuela …” Jordan was so flummoxed that he actually stated that he thought that the signing bonus was a gift…”
What we must bear in mind is that the Head of State, then and now, is sold out on his Government, at all times, being in a state of “transparency and accountability”, as these are the utmost fundamental principles on which a Government must operate. “We are the custodians of the people’s assets,” the President said in that first address, “and we will account to them for all that we do.”
So far so good, and this kind of behaviour really augurs well for the nation.
Yours truly,
Erin Northe
