Govt too thin skinned, ramblings “petulant” – Opposition

Attack on US Ambassador’s SWF comments

Citing Government’s recent attack, made through the Finance Ministry, on United States (U.S.) Ambassador Perry Holloway, who had offered some advice to Government in regard to oil, the Opposition has described the ruling administration as being too thin-skinned, especially when it comes to taking advice on matters of national importance; and, more particularly, as it relates to the oil and gas sector. Ambassador Holloway had called for Guyana to redouble its efforts to ensure the

establishment of a strong and independent fund similar to a Sovereign Wealth Fund, (SWF) to ensure that the country’s development is safeguarded as it continues to benefit from the emerging oil and gas sector.
“The Government’s response to the Ambassador can only be described as ‘petulant’ ramblings. Minister (Winston) Jordan, like his colleagues, continues to be impervious to suggestions, a disposition that does not bode well for our nation,” the Opposition said in a statement in response to the attack on Thursday.
The Opposition also feels that, given the state of affairs, the response by Government is reflective of how ‘thin-skinned’ the Coalition is, and how reluctant it is to consider any view that is not its own.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo reminded that he has, for months, witnessed the Coalition Government fail on its promise to deliver on the establishment of a SWF. The administration, he said, has neglected to work on a solid and apolitical

management architecture for the emerging oil and gas sector.
“On the establishment of the Sovereign Wealth Fund, I have, on multiple occasions, urged that Government take cognizance of the Santiago Principles and a model similar to the principles on which the Norwegian model was developed. The establishment of a Sovereign Wealth Fund is only one element of a management framework for the sector,” Jagdeo explained.
He said there should be no ministerial involvement in the Petroleum Commission; that the remaining oil blocks should be subject to a competitive auction or be kept for future generations; and that the work on the Local Content framework should be completed. “There have been no substantive moves in any of these directions. As I have said before, there is no clear management framework for the oil and gas sector,” Jagdeo declared. Ambassador Holloway on Wednesday insisted that the establishment of a revenue and investment fund was necessary if Guyana is interested in effectively managing the windfall and monies that will flow from the oil and gas sector. He said those monies should be utilised to boost the country’s overall growth and development. His comment was made via an Op-Ed that was published on the US Embassy’s website and social media pages. Explaining that Guyanese will ultimately have to

decide on the type of development model they wish to have in place, the diplomat warned that a “rainy day fund” was simply not enough to secure the country’s future transformation.
Ambassador Holloway also expressed the view that as conversations and discussions continue about what needs to be done to properly manage the oil and gas sector, it was important that the SWF being proposed by the David Granger Administration remain “independent, nonpartisan, transparent, and inviolable”.
He also explained that the fund would realise investments in education, health, infrastructure, agriculture, and security, as he stressed that its urgency cannot be understated.
According to the ambassador, difficult decisions are ahead; whether that involves identifying the right talent to manage the fund, or even making the difficult decision to borrow at concessional rates that will not be available tomorrow, to develop the present. However, the investment today will pay off tomorrow. But while Government has taken offense at the top foreign diplomat’s statement, the Opposition has said it feels the ambassador’s views represent a mild urging of the Coalition Government to pay attention to an important issue, and take substantive action to establish a Sovereign Wealth Fund. “The Ambassador has repeated what I and other Guyanese have already said: the establishment of a Sovereign Wealth Fund is quintessential to the future prosperity of our nation,” Jagdeo added. The Government has claimed that suggestions contained in the Op-Ed may have given the impression that it — and by extension the Finance Ministry, under whose remit the drafting of the legislation for the SWF falls — has not made significant progress on this important piece of legislation.
In developing the draft SWF legislation, the Finance Ministry has receiving support from the Commonwealth Secretariat. A green paper on the subject will be published in 2018, and consultations will occur subsequently. The legislation is intended to be laid in Parliament by the end of 2018.