Deception and lies – the Cabinet circus on the Exxon US$18M

Deception and lies – the Cabinet circus on the Exxon US$18M
Dear Editor,
The revelation of US$18 million being received as a signing bonus and deposited in Sept 2016, some 15 months ago, in a Bank of Guyana account, took the pubic by surprise. The public expressed shock given that, months ago, rumours surfaced about the existence of a signing bonus, but a slew of Government Ministers denied its existence, much-less that the funds were received in September 2016.
The deception would have pre-dated the deposit, given that negotiations may have started right after the 2015 election, as this detail was not in the PPP-Exxon agreements dated June 1999. 18 years later and 2.5 years following the discovery of oil and the election of APNU-AFC, all contracts, negotiations, and financial arrangements with Exxon have been hidden from the public. And so, the first US$18million paid by Exxon was hidden for almost a year and a half, and a merry band of Cabinet members, have engaged in deception and lies over all that relates to Exxon in Guyana.
In November 2016, the 2017 Budget presented in Parliament ignored any evidence of the money, despite it having already been received and banked. The 2017 Budget also had updated 2016 financial reports which omitted the funds. The Bank of Guyana’s 2016 Annual Audit Report, issued in April 2017, ignored the existence of the money. The 2018 budget and preliminary financial report for 2017 again ignored the receipt of such monies.
The Auditor General’s Report of 2016, dated Sept 29, 2017, has no mention of this money. It is now patently clear that the books of the Government and of the Bank of Guyana (who is the bank for the Government) omitted this material amount of US$18 million, and was grossly inaccurate, if not fraudulent.
None other than Anand Goolsarran, who chaired the Bank of Guyana audit committee, sough to distance himself. Yet the Bank of Guyana, as the Government’s bank, should have had clear internal controls on the receipt and reporting of Central Bank funds and Government funds. And Mr. Goolsarran should have been responsible for ensuring proper internal controls for the handling of funds received. Yet none of this happened.
Then we have the cabinet comedy of errors. His Excellency President Granger took responsibility for the issue, and then dismissed any wrongdoing; it is okay to keep the public in the dark about the existence of the bonus and its receipt some 15 months ago. His statement suggests some persons in Cabinet knew.
Then Vice President Greenidge says there was Cabinet approval, suggesting all knew. Normal practice of any Cabinet meeting produces Cabinet decisions that are shared with the Auditor General, but clearly this did not happen.
VP Greenidge reverses course the next day, given his obvious contradiction of the President. Of course Ministers Trotman and Jordan all feign ignorance on the existence of any signing bonus, much less receipt of same. We have a slew of cabinet members visiting Texas in August 2017, some 5 months ago.
So we have all the key Government ministers in Texas. All the while, a shroud of secrecy around everything Exxon in Guyana.
When the news broke of the US$18 million, cabinet members then sought to explain that the money was hidden for security issues relating to the Border controversy. But this defies logic, when substantial other important steps with Exxon are in the public media, including Exxon announced investment plans underway, passage of a Petroleum Act, issuance of a new agreement with Exxon (still secret and hidden), and an abundance of public engagements by Exxon.
Why should the public believe there is any shred of truth in hiding the money and failing to report it as warranted for national security issues? Exxon rushes to clarify its role and distance any suggestion that it knew the funds were earmarked for border issues. Its clarification denies any such agreement, or even knowledge.
Hypocrisy and deception are now evident from the President and his hapless band of Cabinet members. Hypocrisy when APNU/AFC, using Goolsarran as its audit czar and champion of public disclosure and accountability, campaigned against the PPP, arguing all funds to go to the Consolidated Fund and the launch of numerous forensic audits. Hypocrisy when they select some members (PPP) of the GRDB Board and charge them following the omission of financial transactions from the accounts. What a double-standard. Will Mr. Goolsarran be charged as a Director of Bank of Guyana and the Chairman of the Audit Committee? After all, the 2016 annual report with the audit report dated April 2017, was signed off by Mr. Goolsarran himself, all months before he claimed he resigned from the Board. Has Mr. Goolsarran forgotten he himself countersigned the financial statements of the Bank for 2016? Clearly, Mr. Goolsarran, as a Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee, would be guilty by the same standard applied by SOCU to the PPP members of the GRDB Board?
What else has been missed? Will the Finance Secretary and Accountant General be charged? Will the Ministers who misled and deceived the nation be fired?
All the rhetoric in the APNU Manifesto about transparency and accountability was just hot air, when all the while the single largest investment in Guyana’s history (initiated by the PPP) is shrouded in secrecy as to its revised contract and financial terms.
It is now pellucid that the APNU and AFC Cabinet members have no regard for public accountability, transparency and disclosure. Their Manifesto statements about good governance are not worth the paper they are written on. An appalling lack of disclosure on anything to deal with Exxon; secret negotiations and a coziness with Exxon.
To date, all contracts and negotiations have been kept secret. Where is the contract that deals with the Signing Bonus? Where are the new contracts? Where are the terms and conditions for Exxon related to taxation, fiscal incentives, size and type of investments, local contractors and employment, accounting and audit requirements, environmental compliance, independent oversight, etc.?
What concessions and changes have been made by APNU relative to the original 1999 agreement? APNU/AFC keeps the Parliament in the dark. It ignores or lies or deceives the media. It hides money paid by Exxon, and fails to account for it in the national accounts. It presents budgets and ignores any significant mention of the Exxon terms and conditions. It dispatches five cabinet members to visit Texas for engagements with Exxon. Its cabinet members lead negotiations with Exxon with no public reporting. And this is the largest investment many times over in the history of Guyana.
Exxon needs to come clean. The APNU-AFC Government has no intention of being honest and forthcoming with the public, or the Parliament, or the media. Guyana is being operated by APNU and AFC as if they own our country. The loss of democracy and the start of a dictatorship. Our Venezuelan neighbour, rich in oil, had a similar path at the start of this century. We now know what happened. Exxon also knows what happened. Are we next?

Sincerely,
A Grant