The oil mess ꟷmore Granger-led APNU/AFC indecency, dishonesty and lack of integrity

Dear Editor,
At a time when the leading global NGO monitoring the honesty and decency of big oil in the world has concluded that the David Granger-led APNU/AFC signed one of the worst oil deals in the history of the world, a deal that will cost Guyana more than US$55 billion, Mr Granger has had many opportunities speaking directly, face to face, with Guyanese citizens across Guyana to come clean and account to the nation about the US$18 million bonus, the first-ever money Guyana earned from oil.
Guyana received that money as a signing bonus in 2016. APNU/AFC, first denied there was any US$18 million bonus, unequivocally insisting it was a figment of our imagination. But under pressure, they confessed in 2017 to receiving the money. It is now four years with various fanciful stories, yet the Guyanese people are still in the dark.
Mr Granger, once and for all, himself, the big boss, has an obligation to address this matter during one of his rally speeches. Mr Granger must tell the nation if, like Jordan, he too believed it was a gift and, if he believed the gift was for them or for the people of Guyana.
Honesty, decency and integrity demand an unequivocal statement. There is absolutely nothing decent and honest in Guyanese being jerked around, for four years, without a clearly honest answer. Mr Granger must go on record, give a clear and full account of where the money is and what, if anything, it has been used for.
While he is at it, he should tell Guyanese under what circumstances his Government settled for just US$18 million when Brazil contemporaneously got more than US$726 million and Suriname got US$100 million for reserves that are much less than Guyana’s. The decent, honest thing is to come clean, address these concerns that the Guyanese people have.
Mr Granger must tell the nation who ordered Raphael Trotman to sign the outrageous contract, since Trotman recently confessed it was a bad contract, but he was ordered to sign it. Who had the authority to order Trotman, other than Granger?
Instead of cursing out Global Witness for insisting Guyana was significantly short-changed, Granger and APNU/AFC must maturely address the concerns raised by Global Witness. Maybe Global Witness’s conclusion was based on limited information. To erase any doubt, Granger must release all relevant documents so that Guyanese can judge for themselves. The Granger-led APNU/AFC is contemptuous of the Guyanese people by thinking Guyanese cannot decipher the truth for themselves.
Even as these disturbing facts make a nation uneasy and people are seriously questioning the integrity of the Granger-led APNU/AFC, more disturbing exposure of the oil agreements is shocking people everywhere. The 1999 exploration contract signed by Janet Jagan, at a time when Guyana was still struggling to attract big oil, expired in 2016.
Raphael Trotman negotiated a production deal, at a time when it was confirmed Guyana was a major player in new oil reserves. He ignored Guyana’s upper hand, instead, allowing big oil to wield the upper hand, and then the Government proceeded to hide the agreement. The bridging deed, allowing them to keep and extend the blocks from the 1999 agreement, is now being exposed, with several persons seemingly in possession of a copy. Yet the Government adamantly refuses to make public the bridging deed, a property belonging to the Guyanese people. Mr Granger needs to tell Guyanese what law permitted Trotman to sign away our patrimony through an illegal bridging deed. Granger must tell Guyanese why he must not be held responsible for the fiasco.
There, also, is the matter of the gas resource, possibly as valuable as the oil. In this agreement, Guyana made no demands on big oil for the management of the gas resource. At the moment, the oil company is flaring the gas, that is allowing it to dissipate into the air, into the environment. What is honest and decent about Guyana being swindled of a resource as valuable as oil? What is honest and decent in boasting about a green state and then allowing the air above us to be polluted? These are important matters that the Granger-led APNU/AFC must address and their reluctance and adamant objection to doing so expose their total lack of integrity.
At this very moment, the Energy Department has announced that Guyana’s first 1 million barrel haul will be shipped out. But who is managing the sale for Guyana? Is it Shell-Barbados? Not so long ago, in a questionable process, we were told that Shell-Barbados has been contracted to sell Guyana’s oil from the despicable 2 per cent royalty agreement. At the time, we were told the agreement, including the financial implications, will be published for Guyanese to see. Releasing the details of the agreement is not merely because of a promise, it is an obligation. Hiding the details of the agreement is indecent, dishonest and a total lack of integrity.
The truth is that Guyana’s mostly secret oil deal gives away our patrimony for virtually nothing, while the Granger-led APNU/AFC desperately tries shrouding itself with a false coat of decency, honesty and integrity. Everything they do with oil has been dishonest, indecent and totally lacks integrity. Granger must spend less time preoccupied with Bharrat Jagdeo during his stump rally speeches and address the genuine concerns of the people.
He owes citizens this simple courtesy, otherwise, his fake cloak of decency, honesty and integrity is fully exposed. The decent thing for Granger at this moment is hosting a media conference to comprehensively deal with these concerns, otherwise, his decency, honesty and integrity tag line is nothing but a shameless sham.

With regards,
Dr Leslie Ramsammy