A lot hinges on cognitive ability of those we elect in 2020

Dear Editor,
There is a cacophony of drums in the land; drums of the masquerade bands as they herald the arrival of the festive season; drums of political parties, urging supporters into action, register, vote, support! And then there are the oil drums, not playing sweet calypsos as yet, empty, sitting, waiting to be filled and then sold, yet this silent oil drum is louder than all combined, its melody different to every ear, some hear sounds of hope and prosperity, others are dancing entranced by greed and avarice.

As we, Guyanese, stood outside of the Guyana International Petroleum Business Summit and Exhibition (GIPEX-2019), ironically titled “A Gateway to a Golden Future” and watched the parade of foreign businessmen saunter in, Guyanese pondered on the question of how will this oil really and truly benefit me and my family? Some have found jobs in the industry, some have sold bhagee to the oil company and yet the majority remains reserved about their prospects for improvement. An awful lot hinges on the cognitive ability of those we elect in 2020.

After signing the Stabroek Petroleum contract extension, Raphael Trotman said two things that show the thinking of the Granger Administration, (A) “we should – given our relative size, a nation with under one million people, our relative underdevelopment and our relative inexperience – try to stabilise our relationship rather than go out and quote 15 and 20 companies to come into our waters and develop the resource” and (B) “We were already receiving 50 per cent of the profits as an equal partner, having not sunk a single cent into the development of the block”. Both of these statements show a level of naivety that has cost Guyanese dearly.

In the first statement lies a colossal error; Guyana should have insisted on relinquishment provisions in the Stabroek contract and then invited all International Oil Companies (IOC) to an auction. Brazil called its auction that raised 25 billion a failure; Granger hailed 18 million a success. Guyana’s oil is of better quality and easier (cheaper) to access than Brazil’s. A ‘Golden Gateway’ opportunity lost.

The second statement states factually that Guyana will receive 50 per cent of profits. What Trotman failed to grasp is that ‘cost oil’ contains hundreds of millions of dollars in earnings for ExxonMobil employees. The Operator benefits tremendously during the exploration phase also, thousands of ExxonMobil employees earn hefty salaries during the exploration, development, design, and extraction of oil.

Guyana pays these bills by way of pre-contract costs and the cost oil. The shareholders of ExxonMobil (CNOOC, HESS) and Guyana split the profits equally, but not the benefits.

A strong Local Content Policy allows Guyana to get a share of those ‘costs’ and increase our benefits. It should have been priority one for any Government, not a throwaway task designated to a newly-formed Department and then only three years after the discovery of commercial quantities of oil. Guyana will have to play catch-up for many a year to come, any delay could be disastrous. The amateur hour must come to an end. Send home the clowns.

Despondency caused by the performance of Granger’s maladministration of the nation, its economy and possible future earnings, have caused many to consider ‘direct cash transfer’ an attractive proposition. Faced with incompetence in every aspect of governance, citizens have thought it would be better to get something now than watch it be squandered by Granger and his cabal.

Guyana has a massive hydro-electric dam to be built; it has massive investments to make in education, agriculture, mining, construction, infrastructure and all other areas to improve our lives. These developments are not possible without a plan and a capable team dedicated to delivering positive results.

The Guyanese people have to listen to the drums, block out the noise and discordant notes of racism and opportunism; of greed and avarice; of hope and promise. We have to discern who among the political parties have a plan and the ability to deliver on the promise of oil.

I have and I can hear David Rudder’s beautiful song playing in the inner ear.
Can you hear a distant drum Bouncing on the laughter of a melody (yea, yea)
And does the rhythm tell you, come, come, come
Does your spirit do a dance to this symphony
Does it tell you that your heart is afire
Does it tell you that your pain is a liar
Does it wash away all your unlovely
And are you ready for a brand new discovery
Elections are on the second of March 2020.

Respectfully,
Robin Singh