Persons affiliated with the Political Opposition, Opposition aligned critics of the government, and commentators alike, have been trying their best to sell a concocted narrative that Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo is “running scared” of the AFC leader, Nigel Hughes. That is by far wishful thinking. Truth be told, no politician of Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo’s caliber especially, is scared oftheir political opponents. As for Nigel Hughes, the presidential hopeful, not even the weakest politician is scared of him, much less thevaliant Bharrat Jagdeo. It is the inherent nature of politicians, inter alia, their gamesmanship of politics, to proverbially defeat their opponents on all fronts. And it is strategic to do so early.
Over the last three and a half years, the PPP/C Government was consistently accused ofbeing in the pockets of ExxonMobil Guyana (EMGL). But now, it is a blessings in disguise for the PPP/C Government in terms of what is unfolding as regards the “incestuous relationship” between the Alliance for Change (AFC) leader, Mr. Nigel Hughes and EMGL, in the light of the revelations made by Vice President Jagdeo and this author over the last two weeks.
So, all those who have been accusing the PPP/C and chiefly Vice President Jagdeo of being a “sell out” to ExxonMobil—should apologize because there are overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The evidencethat exist is such that, it is the APNU+AFC Government that was compromised in their dealings with EMGL, particularly the AFC faction. Moreso, as it would appear, EMGL is meddling in Guyana’s domestic politics in contravention of US laws prohibiting the firm from doing so, in favor of the embattled AFC leader—who is presently receiving substantial financial benefits from EMGL.
Guyanese would now appreciate that the PPP/C, unlike its main opponent, the APNU+AFC, has taken multiple strong positions that were initially unfavorable to the oil companies, but materially favorable to the country. Each of these additional benefits were not achieved easily; they were all tirelessly fought for. These include the following:
Local Content Legislation
The APNU+AFC Government had no intentions of implementing a local content legislation. Prior to demitting office in 2020 after they lost the general and regional elections, they had presented three draft local content policies. These policies were prepared by a consultant who was hired by ExxonMobil. Worse, the third (final) draft policy was not a local content policy; it was more of a foreign policy because it had only catered for the upstream sector. Guyanese firms do not have the knowledge, technology, capacity, experience, and capability to operate in the upstream sector, thus rendering the policy irrelevant and unsuitable towards enabling the true spirit of local content—that is, to maximize in country value.
Fortunately, the PPP/C Government quickly moved to legislation through which the country is now benefiting from an additional US$1 billion annually in local spend from cost-oil, where nearly 2,000 Guyanese firms are benefiting, and over 6,000 Guyanese employed in the sector. Notably, the local content spend is subject to increase relative to the size and pace with which the sector is expanding.
Gas-to-Energy Project
The Gas-to-Energy (GtE) project was another challenge, which EMGL had opposed initially. EMGL sought to lobby the government through third parties against the GtE, but the PPP/C Government prevailed. This is another transformative project, funded partially from cost-oil, that will deliver an estimated US$1 billion in direct and indirect benefits to the people of Guyana annually.
The APNU+AFC Government had no intentions of implementing this project. In fact, the AFC leader himself has already sought to discredit the project by insinuating that the project is not feasible, that there is no feasibility study, when in fact, the feasibility studies associated with that project are available on the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) website. The AFC’s leader position, however, is not one that is surprising. It is consistent with EMGL’s original position as regards that project. Further to note, a group of so-called “environmentalists”has mounted a legal challenge in the local court against the project, seeking to block the project from going forward.Interestingly, one of the lead persons, namely Elizabeth-Dean Hughes is linked to the AFC, whom it is also believed is a relative of the AFC leader, Nigel Hughes.
The Greater Guyana Initiative (GGI)
The US$100 million Greater Guyana Initiative (GGI) funded by ExxonMobil and Hess as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, has a peculiar background story to it, which the public should be made aware of given the developing circumstances.
The GGI was originally intended to be a national development and competitiveness strategy for Guyana, funded by the oil companies, developed by a team led by Michael Porter, a Harvard University professor. The PPP/C Government was rightfully opposed to that, by stating unequivocally that we do not need foreigners to craft our national development plan, especially one that is funded by the oil companies. Instead, the PPP/C Government completely redesigned the project. In other words, the PPP/C Government dictated what they would like to achieve from this initiative, by setting the terms and conditions, the parameters, and objectives of the project, which has since been repackaged and rebranded as the GGI.
Commendation to the PPP/C Government in that regard, because that is precisely how the oil companies, in their own sophisticated maneuverings, assume control of small countries with weak governments. This was averted in the case of Guyana, compliments of the PPP/C government’s strong and competent leadership.
Other Issues
The PPP/C government currently has two major disputes with EMGL, (i) the US$214 million audit discrepancy that is the subject of arbitration, and (ii) the US$12 billion inflated invoice that is currently in Court. Had it been the APNU+AFC government, these matters would have been settled in favour of EMGL and against the Government of Guyana, and by extension the people of Guyana.
Conclusion
As exhibited herein, it is without a doubt that if the APNU+AFC was still in government, there would have been no local content legislation and no gas-to-energy project. The PPP/C Government is neither weak nor compromised.More importantly, the PPP/C Government has demonstrated that it has what it takes to stand up to the powerful oil companies to fight for what is in the best interest of the people of Guyana. It was not an easy task thus far.