…in PNC camp
The PNC is in full retreat with less than 4 weeks to go before the elections. The Global Witness (GW) report on Trotman’s bungling of the negotiation for a new oil contract in 2016 was a blow to their solar plexus that has left them doubled-up and about to keel over. Can they recover?? Well, they’re doing their darndest to kill the messenger, GW, since there’s only so much spin they can put on the message!!
But since GW doesn’t have any skin in the game – and on the other hand, does have the attention of the international media houses – your Eyewitness doesn’t think that tack’s gonna save them. You just can’t ignore the reach and impact of headlines in the NY Times, Bloomberg and every oil-news platform in the business!! This might have been included in Trump’s morning news briefing!!
And then right here in mud land, there are the telling actions of the Government itself in the post-oil-contract phase. Trotman had been seen as Granger’s fair-haired boy after the former revealed that the two of them had a “Nassau Agreement” on matters political – and the latter unilaterally appointed him to the Natural Resources portfolio. But somewhere along the line after the 2016 contract signing, the relationship soured and oil and gas was taken away from Trotman by Granger and placed in his Ministry of the Presidency under a Department of Energy!!
Why was that done? Couldn’t be that the new Energy Head was a “church boy” unlike Trotman, could it?? Naah! Bureaucratic efficiency? Naah!! It had to be that by the time the move was made in 2016, the criticism of Trotman’s perfidy had percolated into even Granger’s hands-off leadership style. To his credit, Granger’s Energy Advisor had highlighted the ridiculous terms agreed-to by Trotman but was let go for his candour – just before Trotman’s stripping. An early exercise in killing the bringer of bad news!!
By late last year, the PNC Government took the radical step of hiring a British law firm to compile a report of how the oil deal was done. Word must’ve leaked out that GW was doing their investigation!! The firm submitted its findings on Jan 30, just two days before GW’s report. And focused more on “pressure” from Exxon to seal the deal.
Well, heck!! Nothing new here – GW also stressed this point. But this should’ve been a clue to the hapless Trotman that the oil company wanted a deal!! Lesson for Guyana: never send a (pliable) boy to do a man’s job!!
The PNC’s gonna throw Trotman under the bus!!
…contradiction
But while the PNC British solicitors are placing the blame for the skewed oil contract on Exxon’s “pressure” to rush the deal, the Government has had to invoke its earlier excuse of the Venezuelan border controversy. At that time, the PNC was defending hiding the paltry US$18 million “bonus” from the Guyanese people by raising “national security”!! To wit, that they needed US$18 million to pay legal fees for our resort to the World Court to settle the Venezuelan Border controversy, once and for all!!
Now they’re seeking a “two for one” by claiming that the World Court case was ALSO the reason for Trotman’s rush to sign on the dotted line!! And for good measure, they’re throwing in the original 1999 generous contract terms signed by then-President Janet Jagan because of the “insurance” provided by the US giant oil company. But the PNC’s ignoring that in 1999, Guyana was a REAL frontier oil locale…and in 2016 was NOT!!! The 2015 Liza 1 find had de-risked the Stabroek Block!!
Trotman still needs to be investigated!!
…from Granger
Seems that the caretaker President isn’t just violating the Constitution by authorising billion-dollar contracts: he evidently created two new Ministries – Ministry of Bicycles and Ministry of Boats.
Said so at Diamond rally!! Or is he senile??
