Dear Editor,

Having heard criticisms of the coverage being provided by the Kaieteur News from Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, I undertook a research effort of my own. What I found was that ‘fake news’ persist in the face of available facts and explanations.

I have read the negative reports from the Kaieteur News on the former People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) administration’s stewardship of the petroleum blocks, in particular articles that quote Mr. Christopher Ram. The last such article was headlined ‘Trotman refused to correct PPP’s errors with ExxonMobil contract –Ram’ and published on September 26, 2017.
Jagdeo, in response, had addressed these criticisms and answered Mr. Ram’s questions at his press conference on Wednesday (September 27, 2017). Mr. Ram questioned why 600 blocks were given to ExxonMobil, by the late former president, Mrs. Janet Jagan, when the limit is 60. Dr. Jagdeo pointed out that the law allows for a higher number of blocks to be issued “under special circumstances”, and explained that Jagan may have very well included geo-political considerations, particularly given Venezuela’s claim to Guyana’s territory.

He also noted that at the time the blocks were issued to ExxonMobil it was at a time when Guyana was considered a high-risk country and interested parties were not in abundance. And of course we had not found oil as yet. It was Mrs. Jagan’s decision that led to Guyana finding oil. Mr. Ram also questioned why the agreement with ExxonMobil was extended by Jagdeo in 2008. And the former president has explained that a “reset” was needed since ExxonMobil had enforced a force majeure soon after the initial agreement for the 600 blocks, following acts of aggression from Suriname related to the territory. Dr. Jagdeo explained too that on September 7, 2007, the United Nations pronounced on the Guyana/Suriname dispute and in 2008, the force majeure was lifted – which means that between 2000 and 2008 nothing was being done.

It has to be noted that the process of relinquishment would have been affected, were it not for the ‘reset’. The law says the original agreement, that a company holds the original blocks issued for four and a half years and after then it has to relinquish (give up) 50 per cent of the blocks. After that there is a three-year extension, after which a further 50 per cent of the blocks has to be given up.

The Kaieteur News, which publicised Ram’s questions and criticisms in the first place, has made no effort to publicise the responses by former president Dr. Jagdeo to the said questions and criticisms. Interestingly enough, Dr. Jagdeo had also criticised Kaieteur News for only publishing Ram’s comments as they relate to the former PPP/C government, while ignoring the strong words he had for APNU+AFC Minister, Raphael Trotman. A day later, what the Guyanese people read was an article headlined ‘ExxonMobil contract with Guyana… Trotman’s actions make him a liability to Guyana – Ram’.

The article included the mildest of Ram’s criticisms of Trotman and his colleague Ministers. The article also repeated Mr. Ram’s two questions, which were answered by Dr. Jagdeo – responses that still fail to see the ‘light of day’ in the Kaieteur News.

Mr. Ram’s criticisms of the APNU+AFC government included that: “The individual ministers seem hopelessly uninformed and their performance is unimpressive; Minister David Patterson’s claims about blocks that “there is nothing left to give out’ are not supported by facts; Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, was quoted as saying that expenses for the trip to Texas would be charged as Cost Oil, which would be a breach of the accounting provisions of the PSA and sends a wrong signal to ExxonMobil; and that in a number of cases Minister Trotman has acted unlawfully, failed to act as the law requires and often demonstrates a basic lack of understanding of the Petroleum laws.”

It would appear that Kaieteur News is making every effort to hide the incompetence and corruption of the current Coalition Government by sterilising and distorting or not publishing the Opposition’s responses and criticisms of the APNU+AFC Government.

Regards,
Collin Croal, PPP/C MP