–Chairman says country could be negatively impacted by such a move
–body supports sanctity of contracts as investor confidence continues to evolve

AMIDST calls by opposition actors and affiliates for a referendum on the ExxonMobil 2016 contract, which was signed by the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government, Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Komal Singh has said that the business organisation does not support such an idea.

“Executive order and referendum must be used wisely, and must be carefully thought out. Bottom line is we do not, as a business organization, support a referendum to address the matter at hand,” Singh said in an invited comment to the Guyana Chronicle.
He went on to say: “While referenda are used around the world for various reasons, if not used wisely there can be serious consequences and negative impact on a country’s economy and foreign relation.”
Regarding the “oil deal”, the PSC Chairman said Guyana and ExxonMobil have a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), and authorities should use a “good office” approach to address any concerns related to the contract.
“The private sector supports the sanctity of contracts. As Guyana’s economy continues to evolve and expand, investor confidence is becoming more critical.

“As a consequence, all stakeholders have an obligation to maintain a high level of investor confidence within our economy,” he said.
The PPP/C government, despite the challenges, has showed that the country can get more out of the PSA with ExxonMobil to benefit the population.
“We showed that we can get more out of the contract that I explained in the past; we can get significantly more benefits for the people of this country. The gas-to-energy project alone is US$250 million per year in savings to the population. The local content law brings in US$700 million,” Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo had said.

He related that a referendum, in addition to being an effort to shift blame, would also put additional elements on the ballot, and this would complicate the process.
The Vice-President had posited that anything about a referendum on any particular matter has to be debated openly, and is not for the head of a political party or a member of the Cabinet to pronounce on these issues.
“It must be debated fully. And then, if there is an appropriate time for that, it will be done in the future,” Jagdeo said.

He added that the PPP/C will not be caught up in any of the opposition ‘side avenues’ in the lead-up to the elections, as that process is about choosing a government.
“I do not want [the] 2025 elections to be complicated with side rules. Next thing, Vincent Alexander and the others they would love to latch on to something else where GECOM has to now detract from all of its effort, or to divert some of its effort from the 2025 elections to other kinds of issues.
“That’s not going to serve the interests of the country or in this case, the PPP. That has been a subject or has been subjected repeatedly to attempts by PNC and APNU to steal elections. Do not complicate that process,” Jagdeo said.