…urges prudent management of oil resources

CHARGE D’ Affaires of the United States Embassy here, Terry Steers-Gonzalez, has again pledged his country’s support for Guyana’s territorial sovereignty and has urged Venezuela to respect the Arbitral Award of 1899.

He also said that Guyana has the potential to become a rich oil state with the recent discovery of oil but warned that if the industry is not properly monitored then it can very well end up being a failure. Terry Steers-Gonzalez was at the time delivering the feature address at the Essequibo Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Annual Dinner and Dance held at the Anna Regina Town Hall on Saturday evening. During his address to those in attendance, the US diplomat called for neighbouring Venezuela to respect the 1899 Arbitral Award on the ongoing border controversy between the two nations.

Early this year, the US had called for a timely resolution to the controversy. Steers-Gonzalez said outgoing US Ambassador Perry Holloway had motivated the US to adopt its current position.

Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge has already described the US’s position on the border controversy as significant. “It is an extremely strong and significant statement,” said the minister, adding that it was the Treaty of Washington in 1897 which led to the 1899 Arbitral Award.

The border controversy arose after Venezuela contended that the Arbitral Award of 1899, which settled the countrys’ border, was null and void. In an effort to bring an end to this age-old controversy, on January 30, 2018, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres, in keeping with the 1966 Geneva Agreement, announced that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) would be the next means to be used for resolution of the controversy. On March 29, 2018, Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge filed Guyana’s application with the ICJ but Venezuela has declined to participate in the court action filed by Guyana.
The Guyana/Venezuela Border controversy started during the second half of the 19th century between Venezuela and Great Britain over the location of the border between its colony of British Guiana and the Spanish-speaking country. This continued until an Arbitral Tribunal was empanelled in 1897 to determine the borders and issued an Arbitral Award on October 3, 1899.

Following this, a joint commission with representatives from both countries delineated the borders in 1905. For half a century Venezuela honoured this agreement in word and deed. In 1931, a boundary commission made up of representatives from Great Britain, Venezuela and Brazil agreed on the specific point on Mount Roraima where the boundaries of British Guiana, Venezuela and Brazil meet. A concrete marker was erected soon after. The matter was permanently settled.

Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Esteban Gil Borges in 1941 agreed that the frontier with British Guiana was well defined and was a closed issue. However, in 1962, Venezuela unilaterally and without any basis or evidence announced that it regarded the Award of 1899 as null and void.

By November 1965 a meeting in London between Venezuelan and British representatives and a representative from British Guiana was held. A joint Communique stating that both sides should work to “find satisfactory solutions for a practical settlement of the controversy which has arisen as a result of the Venezuelan contention,” was issued.
In February of 1966, the governments of British Guiana, Great Britain and Venezuela, in Geneva, Switzerland, signed an agreement by which a bilateral commission was appointed to seek “satisfactory solutions for the practical settlement of the controversy between Venezuela and the United Kingdom, which has arisen as the result of Venezuela’s contention that the arbitral award of 1899 about the frontier between British Guiana and Venezuela is null and void.”

Transparency
Meanwhile, also during his address at the Essequibo event, Steers-Gonzalez said too that the proposed Natural Resource Fund to manage the wealth of the oil industry should be transparent, viable and non-partisan. He also said that the Fund should be managed by an independent board of directors for greater accountability. With that in mind he said that there will be an imaginary amount of money coming into Guyana and with prudent financial management Guyana can become an oil rich state which can transform and develop the country. Attending the dinner also was Region Two Chairman Devanand Ramdatt who wished every one well for the Christmas season. He said the Region was promised heightened security by the armed forces for the holidays. He also assured residents that the Guyana Power and Light Company has assured of a stable flow of electricity.

President of the Essequibo Coast Chambers of Commerce Suean Seewnarayan thanked everyone for supporting the dinner. She informed the gathering that the Chambers now has its own office and a full time staff located at Municipality Building in Anna Regina. She wishes the business community well for the season and asked for continued support in 2019.