Standing against Global Witness

FROM the time it was announced almost five years ago that Guyana had discovered oil and gas, the long knives came out with a vengeance. It is as if they were just waiting for the opportunity to torpedo the nation’s chances of joining the elite group of countries that benefit from the riches that come from oil and gas. Suddenly, everyone with a pen and a microphone became experts on the industry. They came from all directions with tales of gloom and doom.

They arrogated to themselves the role of lecturing Guyanese on how dangerous it is to be an oil-producing nation. Despite evidence to the contrary, they have kept up the drumbeat that Guyana was shortchanged by the team that negotiated the contracts on our behalf. And now they have been joined by a foreign group called Global Witness which this past week released what is nothing short of a nasty piece of political propaganda aimed at undermining the coming elections.

The relentlessness of the naysayers gives the impression that negotiating the perfect oil contract is the easiest undertaking. Not once have they stopped to discuss the geopolitical context in which all this has been taking place. Guyana is a small, newly independent nation with little clout in a world that is hostile to such countries.

There are objective circumstances that placed Guyana at a disadvantage as it sought to hammer out deals with Exxon Mobil and other foreign oil companies. Any honest commentator would know that countries such as Guyana are vulnerable in such a world; they have little or no leverage when they sit across the table from the giant multi-national corporations.

Every country would want the most favourable contractual arrangements for itself—the best contract, the largest signing bonus, a large local content and a bigger slice of the profits. But there are often factors that stand in the way of such ambitions. As Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo recently pointed out, our border controversy with Venezuela was a pivotal consideration in the negotiations. It is no secret that having multinational corporations from the powerful countries of the world in Guyana is a big deterrence to Venezuelan aggression. The peddlers of doom and gloom completely ignore that factor. In a real sense, the threat of Venezuelan aggression lessened any potential leverage Guyana might have had. That is just a fact that ought not to be ignored.

This publication has no problems with citizens and groups advocating in the public space for the best contracts for Guyana. We also respect the rights of citizens to criticise their government’s handling of negotiations with foreign companies. But to hang your government on the cross with little regard for the factors outside of their control is unacceptable. There can be no doubt that multinational corporations take advantage of the inherent weaknesses of nations. After all, their major concern is filling their pockets with the least risk and with as few liabilities as possible.

To turn around and blame your country for its failure to overcome these tremendous hurdles reeks of arrogance and dishonesty.
This past week we have been inundated with a report from a foreign group, Global Witness. Any objective analysis of the report would show a clear and present intent to place the government in very bad light. The timing of the report on the eve of elections is little short of interference in the domestic affairs of the country.

Whatever the merits of the report, it is downright unethical to disparage one of the major contestants in the election. It is not surprising that the major opposition has pounced on the report and seeks to portray it as the unbridled truth. Many Guyanese are therefore justified in making a linkage between Global Witness and the local opposition. Perception is often close to reality.

We hold no brief for the current government. But as a national publication we have to draw the line between principle and cheap politicking. Try as we may, it is difficult not to conclude that the criticisms of the government’s handling of the oil contracts is not driven by narrow partisan interests. As we prepare to celebrate 50 years of republicanism, one shudders at the thought that there are still forces in this country that are aligned to external destabilisation of the national interest. Further, we are appalled that there are others who still view national reality exclusively through the lens of party. This is indeed one of the debilitating aspects of our national psyche that must be altered if we are to maintain our national integrity.

It is against that background that we urge citizens to take a stand against this chorus of doom and look on the brighter side. Guyana is on the brink of a socio-economic revolution that if handled properly could move us out of the doldrums of post-colonial limbo. Let us defend our sovereignty against those who still see us Third World peoples with little capacity for transformation. With oil and gas pumping out of our country, the potential for better far outstrips the negative vibes that emanate from the mouths of the disgruntled few and their cohorts beyond our shores.

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