If this is the way our first oil money was treated, then heaven help us

Dear Editor,
Former Finance Minister in the APNU/AFC Government, Winston Jordan, is now flaming fury that the Attorney General has begun investigations into his stewardship of our first oil money.
It all centres around the subject of the $18M ExxonMobil signing bonus, a matter that has resurfaced after its earlier hiatus.
The Government is seeking after the circumstances surrounding the existence, if any or what is left of it. Some of the questions asked are: Where is this money held, and for what purposes?
We are at the point where the present administration is seeking answers for this very same account, with similar questions being asked; only, this time, we are going to get definitive answers through the legal process.
Mr Jordan, for his part, is hopscotching again, telling us about his good reputation as Finance Minister is being tarnished by the present Government, and much of what we will term as hot air.
We – and I use the term we, meaning the People of Guyana – would like to know about the whereabouts of the $18M. This is not a private account of Jordan’s, nor is it that of the PPP/C either; we, the people of this country, are seeking knowledge of our affairs; or, simply put, we have every right to know. We want to know in clear and transparent terms what took place as it regards our sovereign wealth.
This, again I say, is not some convoluted discussion of one’s qualification to lead a ministry or some back-and-forth between the Coalition and the PPP/C party; this is a matter for all Guyanese.
Like I said, if this is the way our first oil money was treated, then heaven help us if that party continued to be in power.

Respectfully,
Neil Adams