GUYANESE have been calling on the APNU+AFC Government to make public the contract signed with ExxonMobil on our oil and gas resources. Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo is among those who are calling for such a revelation, though the contract for exploration with this company was signed in June 1999 when he was President.  The fact that his government never sought to make the contract public amidst similar calls for its publicity would create speculation as to his motive and objective.

It is also reasonable to ponder outside of what some could refer to as a rip van winkle moment, whether Mr. Jagdeo finds such a call politically expedient and would position him as someone interested in transparency, when his was a presidency clouded in secrecy, scandals and allegations of deal-makings. That having been said, growing calls for making the contract public also see allegations being made by the opposition leader that the Government is up to something sinister.

Vice-President and Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan, had cause to address what frankly can lead to such potential in speaking to the media about Mr. Jagdeo’s allegation that corruption is afoot in the petroleum industry. According to Mr. Jadgeo, such would entail members of the Government and their families acquiring available petroleum mining-blocs with the intent to resell these highly valuable blocs on the international market. Minister of Public Infrastructure said all the blocs are gone and were given out by the PPP/C Government .

Speaking with the media last week, Vice-President Ramjattan refuted the allegations and called on the opposition leader to provide the evidence to substantiate the claim. A factor in the propagating of this kind of information, as Vice-President Ramjattan correctly noted, is that of the media and what role we play in the process. The vice- president is not without merit in chiding the media to ask the opposition leader to provide evidence to his claim, because the media too have a role as the mediator of information to help facilitate such information.

If Mr. Jagdeo too wants the statements he is making to be seen as credible, it would be reasonable to expect of him to facilitate information to the press corps or selected few. The leader of the opposition is a seasoned politician and has to be aware what he is doing where un-substantiated, can create conflicts among the people and make the political environment untenable.

The need for accountability cannot be ignored, given the stories circulating about the sector, critical analyses and reviews by those taking an interest, and not to be excluded are those who want to know specific details relating to the contract and those who see opportunities to create political fodder. The complexities of this issue cannot be lost sight of and the role of the media, government, opposition, other stakeholders and individuals, domestic and foreign.

Information in navigating understanding of this issue cannot be underestimated, because where ignorance pervades, it does no benefit to the collective but the self-serving. There are too many global stories, nay it be said far too many unpleasant cases where this sector has divided and torn asunder societies, resulting in instances of civil upheavals and failures to properly address the socio-economic welfare of the people. As Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin admitted, the sector will not be the panacea for all our economic hopes.

However, where the impression is being given, deliberate or otherwise, that the sector has the potential to and some are seeking not to make it possible rumours will not help.
Understandably, where there is a blackout of information, speculation will run rife and rumours could abound. President David Granger has always stressed the importance of transparency in this sector.

In March, when a visiting delegation from the company’s executive was here, he made knownGovernment’s commitment to the development of Guyana’s oil and gas sector in an atmosphere of transparency and trust, so that the parliamentary Opposition and the people of Guyana are fully involved in the process and views the development of a petroleum industry as one of natural interest and involvement.

Where companies may fail in meeting transparency expectation, the Government of Guyana may find it more to its and the society’s advantage not to let this become an opportunity to foster rumours, social upheavals, and political divisions.