By Ryhaan Shah
It isn’t just that the Granger Government is preparing GECOM for rigged general elections in 2020, and in full view of the world; but that, by their own words and actions, they are clearly stating their intent to continue the PNC dictatorial corruption that has already begun, complete with the recklessness – economic, social and otherwise – that ruined the country before.
One of the most recent indications came from the mouth of Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman, who, in an interview with “The Wall Street Journal” (WSJ), said: “Each Guyanese is going to be a US-dollar millionaire, or worth that, in a few years.” The statement is revelatory of the Granger Government’s state of mind vis-a- vis the oil find and Guyana’s future.
To give the WSJ its due, the article did register scepticism about Trotman’s statement, and did report that there were local criticisms of the ExxonMobil deal, which they said many Guyanese feel disproportionately benefits the oil company.
They also reported on the current state corruption and the possible governmental inability to handle an oil deposit worth nearly “50 times the nation’s gross domestic product”. The US$18 million signing bonus is evidence of that, but Trotman’s statement is worrying for its revelation that Government is paying no heed to warnings that Guyana could fall prey to the Dutch Disease, a disease suffered by new oil-rich countries which disregard traditional revenue streams and become solely dependent on oil earnings, to their detriment.
Perhaps the closure of sugar estates was due in part to the economic recklessness brought on by the expected oil wealth. That Guyana has to import molasses this year to satisfy the demands of the rum industry could be an indication of what is yet to come.
Government has also embarked on a pattern of reckless spending and borrowing that, according to economist Sase Singh in a recent Guyana Times column, would make Guyana “more indebted per size of the economy than Haiti.” The economy is growing at a slower pace than the growth of the national debt. That is to say: we are spending more than we earn, and Singh foresees more economic stagnation ahead, unless Government acts now to improve the situation.
Trotman’s statement, however, reveals a Government so heady about the expected oil wealth that it is unprepared to listen to any cautionary advice, and the headiness could also explain the lack of interest and policy directives in developing and diversifying traditional revenue earners, like sugar and rice.
But Government’s recklessness extends to more than the projected economic ruin. There are growing fears that economic disaster could be accompanied by irreparable environmental damage. ExxonMobil arrived here bearing the baggage of the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 29 years ago, and has perhaps learned how best to tailor its policies to protect its interests.
To refresh everyone’s memory about the crude oil that spilled from the Exxon Valdez tanker when it struck a reef off Alaska in 1989: the opening in the damaged hull released 11 million gallons of crude oil into the sea; more than 1,000 miles of coastline were contaminated, and thousands of animals died. Exxon paid billions in clean-up costs, but the damage done is irreparable. Many Alaskan beaches remain polluted to this day, with crude oil buried just inches below the surface.
Conservation International, a global environmental watchdog, has compromised the integrity of its local mission by accepting funding of US$10 million from ExxonMobil. This is a clear conflict of interest, not only for CI, but for the Granger Government and its Green State Development Plan, since part of the funds will be used to finance classes at UG aimed at expanding community-supported conservation efforts.
“The mouth is always muzzled/By the food it eats to live,” wrote our Poet Laureate Martin Carter; and you would think that Government, touting its GSDP, would be in the forefront of insisting on clear policy guidelines from the oil corporation in regard to safeguarding Guyana’s environment – with tough legal and financial consequences for any breaches — instead of compromising its own conservation efforts by accepting handouts for some classroom training.
It is clear where the Granger Government’s loyalty lies; it is not with Guyana, its citizenry, or with the environment. Conservationist Annette Arjoon-Martins must be given every support as she battles, often single-handedly, the oil giant. She is one of the true patriots in the fight to defend and safeguard Guyana’s rich environmental patrimony for future generations.
The Granger Government, on the other hand, has shamefully vacated its responsibility to this nation, and has sold out to big oil.
