…we got in oil
Some folks still don’t get it. They don’t deny that PNC’s “Nassau” Trotman sold us down the river on the sh*tty oil contract he signed back in 2015. They also know about the sh*tty bonus and royalty he accepted, unlike what other countries from Africa thru Suriname to Brazil got. But what your Eyewitness can’t fathom is why all these “experts” – presumably well-meaning and having Guyana’s interest at heart? – are insisting the PPP MUST “renegotiate” the contract.
Let’s put this in terms the ordinary Joe or Jhaat can understand. Say you have a house and you authorise your adult son to sell it. He observes all the legalities, does so for a pittance, and the transport is passed. You hit the roof when you see the crumbs he brought home. But what can you do? Can you tell the buyer you want more money? Can you go to the courts and tell them you want to “renegotiate” the contract? Or you want to cancel the contract? The answer is you can’t!
How many times haven’t we heard of persons forging “Powers of Attorney”, purportedly giving them the right to sell land – which they promptly do. The actual owners find out, go to the courts and complain: “Hey, I never gave permission to sell my land!! I want it back!” The case goes through our High Court, Appellate Court and then the CCJ, who all say, “Sorry, no can do!! It’s the law, budday!”
And that’s the problem with the Oil Contract, innit? We can’t say that Trotman was an “infant” and was therefore incapable of signing the contract to make it “void”. He might be an “idiot” (IQ 0-25), an “imbecile” (IQ 26-50) or moron (IQ 51-75) but he certainly wasn’t under 18 years old, which would disqualify him as an “infant!
Another disqualification that could force voiding the contract would’ve been if he had a mental DISORDER! Now, while we all exclaimed, “Da man head crack!” when we heard about his contract – sadly, that didn’t make him certifiably so!!
Now, you may say the court should accept that the contract “ain’t fair” – and every red-blooded Guyanese would swear to this! But this doesn’t cut no ice with the courts. They use some doctrine of “equity” to deal with such claims – if there was “undue influence” or “unconscionable conduct”. So, can Trotty – who insists he’s a Harvard-TRAINED negotiator! – prove Exxon did brainwash him? Truth of the matter, all that’s left for the PPP Government is “moral suasion”.
But with Exxon only now in the black, would they place Guyana’s interests ahead of their shareholders?
Didn’t think so!
…in the Police
Our Police Force is comparatively small – a beefed-up 4900 ranks, representing a 37% increase between 2014 and 2019 by the PNC. So, a couple of years ago, it was very shocking to hear that 47 of them were before the courts facing CRIMINAL charges. That’s 1% of the entire GPF! And we know, like everything else in Guyana, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Most folks don’t bother to bring action against the Police for fear of vindictive retaliation!
Now, it’s customary at this point to offer a disclaimer to the effect that “not all Police are bad”! Of course, they aren’t! But from all available evidence, the number of “bad apples” are just too high, and citizens can’t be blamed for thinking the entire barrel is rotten! The stench from the said barrel is just too putrid to conclude otherwise. So, what to do? The top brass gotta stop pussyfooting around the issue, and accept that we got a problem on our hands.
…Emancipation means
So, yesterday we all donned our Kente-fabric garbs, ate conkie and metemjee, and poured libations to our gods of yore. Your Eyewitness wishes we would now move on to making serious money, so that emancipation would finally be experienced.
