AG should march Ramotar, Persaud to CID over oil blocks deal – Ramon Gaskin

Ramon Gaskin is of the considered opinion that the Attorney General (AG), Anil Nandlall, SC, and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration should treat the suspicious handlings of the Canje and Kaieteur licenses with the same alacrity with which they treat recent corruption cases related to land giveaways and the recently concluded election.

He was at the time giving an invited comment on the manifestation of one of the several red flags observed in the handling of the oil licenses, specifically where the initial owners of the two blocks sold out their operatorship of the blocks without doing much work of their own.
The activist said that Nandlall would do well to march former President and Minister of Petroleum, Donald Ramotar and former Minister of Natural Resources, Robert Persaud, down to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Eve Leary so they could answer to Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum about the role they played.

Persaud, who currently holds the post of Foreign Secretary, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, should distance himself from the post until such an investigation has been concluded, Gaskin also posited.
He pointed to the recent firing of Colvin Heath-London as a fair precedent for Persaud to follow. London served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the state-owned

National Industrial Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) until two days ago.
The Irfaan Ali administration concluded, according to the Attorney General, that Heath-London failed to protect the best interests of the agency, thereby costing the government to lose billions in investments.
In the case of the Kaieteur and Canje Blocks, by failing to develop its capacity and put the awards through open, competitive bidding process, the Ramotar administration cost Guyana billions in signing bonuses.
Gaskin said that before an oil block is given away, it is required that the government be satisfied of the technical, financial and managerial competence of the applicant.

In these cases, the activist said there is no evidence to suggest that the Ministers were so satisfied.
Ramotar signed the licenses away, but he said that it was Persaud’s advice that he acted on.
As for Persaud, he said that he simply acted as a conduit to pass the briefing reports prepared by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to the Petroleum Minister. He said that the reports were prepared by lawyers attached to the Commission, but would not name the lawyers, nor could he provide copies of the reports when asked about them by anti-corruption watchdog, Global Witness.
None of the initial owners was actually qualified to develop the ultra deepwater blocks, which raises the question of why such large national assets were given away to these unqualified companies.
This is a question Gaskin believes Persaud and Ramotar need to answer to the police.

Other persons who should also answer to the police, Gaskin said, include the owners of Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas, Cataleya Energy Limited, and Ratio Guyana – the companies which received the Kaieteur and Canje Blocks.
He pointed out that the Government is fervently pursuing the prosecution of persons thought to be involved in the failed rigging attempt of Guyana’s 2020 General and Regional Elections, with investigations and charges against People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) officials Volda Lawrence and Carol Joseph, and former Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo.

Corrupt and/or illegal handling of Guyana’s national assets is just as grave an issue as election rigging, Gaskin believes, and it should be treated that way.
He is of the view that the awards of the licenses are riddled with illegalities, and that the licenses should be rescinded and properly procured using a competitive bidding process.