‘Never Again’

Dear Editor,

If every country gets the government it deserves, then I must ask what dog Guyana kicked? Raphael Trotman’s latest excuse for his inept handling of the renegotiation of the ExxonMobil contract is cringe-worthy and exposes the lack of knowledge and intellect available in Granger’s cabinet. They were looking for a “big friend”.

The logical ‘big friends’ Guyana should have been seeking would have been a minimum of three teams of highly experienced negotiators. Can anyone honestly say that the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission would be your first, second or fifth choice of negotiator with the third-largest company in the world?

They are also the largest oil company. At the time Guyana’s foreign currency reserves stood at over USD 900 Million, why was Trotman begging for USD 18 Million for ‘lawyers fees’? Trotman presented Guyana as a nation of dimwits and beggars and we were treated accordingly.

As to Trotman’s latest flimsy excuse of fears of a Venezuelan invasion, I can point to the advice offered and ignored early in Granger’s tenure that would have benefitted the nation greatly had he been a wise and prudent leader.

As early as July 2015 I could see that David Granger had a very poor grasp of geopolitics, his response to Venezuelan maritime decrees was infantile. I wrote back then (SN 2015.07.09) that we should not aggravate our benevolent trading partner by saying they were “a monkey on our backs” but instead seek a diplomatic solution; I also noted we could see an abrupt end to the Petro Caribe aid programme if we continued to abuse our largest trading partner.

Seeking ExxonMobil as a “big friend” could only be based on ‘rum shop’ gaff. Guyana’s allies in the (unlikely) event of a border conflict with Venezuela are not oil companies, but countries such as Brazil, the UK, and the USA, all of whom have a strong interest in maintaining border integrity in the Americas. ExxonMobil has no ‘friends’ it also has no Army, Navy or Air force; what it (ExxonMobil) has is a great deal negotiated and signed by men way out of their depth and operating under great misconceptions.

As we end 2019 and oil production is about to commence, Raphael Trotman is on the radio touting how many barrels Guyana will get and how much revenue is expected to flow to the coffers, this he does without shame. I am certain when Guyanese add this ‘big friend’ policy to the bungling of Local content policy they will conclude ‘never again’. Elections are on the 2nd of March 2020.

Respectfully
Robin Singh