Well, you gotta hand it to those folks who believe the PNC-Trotman-“negotiated” oil contract should be renegotiated. Looks like they’re prepared to follow Churchill’s vow: “We shall fight on the seas and oceans…we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” For our oil, they’d have to fight UNDER the seas!! But after the Nordics blew up that Nord Stream gas line under the Baltic Sea…that’s not so farfetched!!
Now, your Eyewitness has “gotayed” this “renegotiation” demand so many times, he’s getting blue in the face!! While it’s easy to be screaming all sorts of plays from the sidelines for the athletes on the field to score goals, we gotta accept those athletes are the ones to make the call – if for no other reason that they’re actually EXPERIENCING the real world in real time!! That doesn’t mean they mightn’t make mistakes, but we on the sidelines must concede their right to make the calls – and not accuse them reflexively of “selling out” the game!! Which is what some of the critics are screaming!!
If you’d remember, dear reader, your Eyewitness had made two main points: firstly, that something fishy went down with Trotman when he signed the contract in May 2015 – AFTER EXXON HAD STRUCK OIL!! While there was a contract since 1999, this needed to be renewed! So Trotty was starting de novo – as lawyers are wont to say! – on behalf of Guyana, and should’ve done better. Story done!! But since he was presumably of sound mind and was duly authorised by the Government of Guyana, Exxon came out of the “negotiation” with a valid contract.
Which they’ve insisted must be honoured!! Now, the critics are saying that the contract can be renegotiated by its own terms – but fail to mention that this gotta be MUTUALLY agreed to. And Exxon ain’t agreeing to no mutuality!! We on we own!! And secondly, your Eyewitness’s been saying that any unilateral changing of terms or going to international arbitration would tee off Exxon. And since the experience of United fruit from the last century, we know how hot things could get from there onward!! More recently, just think of the Venezuelan debacle!!
Well, Pressie’s now pointed this out after the local Exxon rep said that changing the terms would be “very destructive” to investor confidence. Get it?? “Very destructive”!! Pressie acknowledged this reality when he said last week: “It’s not farfetched, look around us, our neighbours…about agreements that were not honoured and see the consequences”!!
A hint to Beneba mek Quashie tek notice!!
…Ole St Valentine
Well, tomorrow’s gonna be Valentine’s Day…and a whole lotta chocolates and flowers will be sold!! So, who was this Valentine guy who gave his name to romantic love?? Interestingly (to your Eyewitness!), he was a Roman Catholic monk who appears to’ve followed the Biblical dictum, “Lord, give me chastity – but not yet!!” The Roman Emperor Claudius hadn’t converted to Christianity, and was trying to stave off the new religion that was attracting converts in the multitudes.
In addition to feeding them to the lions, he banned Christian marriages – to stop them from “multiplying” when he only wanted “subtracting?? And this is where Valentine stepped in. He kept on performing marriages, and was executed on Feb 14 for his efforts – after a long period of imprisonment. Seems he had some skin in the love game, since he wrote a love note to his jailor’s daughter before losing his head.
He’s also the patron saint of beekeeping, epilepsy, the plague, fainting, and travelling. Just so you know!!
