…Trotman admits to receiving money for Venezuela-Guyana border controversy
By Lakhram Bhagirat
In light of revelations that Government indeed received millions of US dollars in a signing bonus from US oil giant, ExxonMobil, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has called for the resignation of the entire Government after they deceived Guyanese.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo during his budget presentation
On Friday, Guyana Times reported that the Administration was fully aware of receiving the signing bonus granted by the same company, while a request was also made to open an account at the Central Bank to facilitate a deposit.
A missive dated September 20, 2016, which was leaked to this newspaper, and addressed to the Governor of the Bank of Guyana has this subject: “Signing bonus granted by ExxonMobil – Request to open bank account”. It shows that Finance Secretary at the Finance Ministry, Hector Butts, had requested that a foreign currency account be opened at the bank in order to receive a deposit in the form of a ‘signing bonus’ to be given by ExxonMobil.
The letter stated, “This account should not be treated as part of the Bank’s reserves. Instead, the proceeds should be held in the currency of the deposit, that is United States dollars, and invested in secured interest-bearing securities.”
During his Budget 2018 presentation, Jagdeo noted the fact that a special account was set up breaches the financial laws of the country, while adding that the monies ought to have been deposited into the account of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) or the Consolidated Fund.
“What we have here is a major scandal. The Government of Guyana took money, large sums of money, in form of a signing bonus and did not tell the people (and) write to put it into a special account, not paid into the Consolidated Fund or into the GGMC. What if a few years had passed? Then someone can easily, because it is not recorded, can easily drawdown monies from this fund. It is illegal! The entire Government should resign now,” Jagdeo noted.
Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman
Jagdeo contended that the funds should have been included in the budget, adding that it was understated by over $4 billion. This, he said, is grounds to call for the withdrawing of the entire 2018 estimates because it translates to being not only fraudulent but also illegal.
While pinpointing various newspaper articles, Jagdeo pointed out that both Natural Resource Minister Raphael Trotman and Finance Minister Winston Jordan, have consistently denied receiving such a bonus on several occasions. However, the leaked correspondence came from the Finance Ministry and was copied to Trotman.
“If the Minister of Finance knew of this and he deliberately misled this nation in such categorical terms that it is the figment of our imagination, then there must be another motive for trying to hide this money. There must be another motive, Mr Speaker, and I think if he knew and he misled this nation then he should resign,” he said in relation to Jordan.
Jordan had previously stated that such claim of a bonus is ‘a figment of the imagination’ and that there is ‘no agreement for any bonus’, adding that the Government did not request such a bonus.
“Mr Speaker it’s not only the Minister of Finance who knew of this. This letter was copied to the honourable Minister Raphael Trotman, he too should resign. Because they knew of this signing bonus and they categorically, Mr Speaker, denied it and this was since September of 2016 so over a year this country was in the dark,” Jagdeo added.
The Opposition Leader said only a selected few stand to benefit from the oil proceeds under the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change Administration. He also accused Government Ministers of misleading the nation when they cited legal and sovereign implications for their refusal to release the contract with ExxonMobil.
He claimed the only thing that prevented the coalition Government’s refusal to release the contract was its lack of transparency and secreted nature. However, the Government has since give in to the pressure and announced that it will release the contract by the end of the year.
Bonus to pay for border controversy
After months of denial, the Natural Resources Minister on Friday told the National Assembly that Government did receive a large sum of money from oil giant ExxonMobil following the signing of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA). Trotman informed that the money is being used to defend Guyana’s territorial integrity in the border controversy with Venezuela.
The Government has been consistently denying receiving the money but a document from the Finance Secretary, Hector Butts, was leaked to the media in which he requested that the Bank of Guyana’s Governor set up a special account to deposit the money.
However, Trotman noted that Government remains strong and unembarrassed while noting that the non-disclosure was to protect citizens.
During his budget presentation, Trotman said the money was received to safeguard from the reoccurrence of the July 2000 incident, where Surinamese military detained a CGX rig operating in Guyana’s territory.
“A certain company, Mr Speaker, handed over a certain sum which I challenge anyone to deny to aid the Government work in defending its rights in any court of law and to advance its diplomatic efforts. So, Mr Speaker, this Government took the advice that was given to the previous Government, we adopted that advice, and yes Mr Speaker, we did work with it to preserve the safety and wellbeing of the people of Guyana and to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country,” the Minister clarified.
“Yes there is a sum and yes Mr Speaker, it is reserved to safeguard this country and in matters of State, certain things have to be done and so they were done under then President Jagdeo and so they will be done under President Granger because the State, Mr Speaker, must be protected,” Trotman added.
He noted that they are not ashamed that the facts are now coming to light; rather he is very much relieved and reiterated that full disclosure of the contract would be made possible later this month.
Trotman also told the House that although Exxon was not obligated to renegotiate the contract once the coalition Government came into office, it was done under better terms.
About a week ago, Minister of State Joseph Harmon told reporters at a post-Cabinet press briefing that Government would be funding the legal proceedings from the border controversy.
Relations between Guyana and Venezuela have worsened ever since oil giant ExxonMobil announced in 2015 that it had found oil in Guyana. Venezuela has staunchly been against oil exploration in Guyana’s Stabroek Block, where ExxonMobil found multiple oil deposits.
In fact, Venezuela’s National Assembly had approved an agreement to reject the oil exploration activities in March 2017.
In 2015, the Government of Guyana requested then UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, to take steps toward resolving the controversy. In 2016, because of a stalemate on the matter, the outgoing Ban Ki-moon agreed with his successor, Guterres, to continue to use the Good Offices Process until the end of 2017 as a means of arriving at a settlement.
Guyana is relying on the decision that the border controversy over the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal if not resolved by the end of 2017, that the matter be taken to the International Court of Justice, honouring Guyana’s request.
