Dear Editor,
With the recent oil discovery of oil off Guyana’s shores a little over a year ago, we have seen a litter of consultants parading around the streets of Georgetown accompanied by Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman. According to the Minister, these consultants are experts in their field and have provided similar consultancy support to various other countries. The Minister assures us that Guyana is in good hands as he boasts proudly about all the help it is receiving from international consultants. Beware of the experts, Guyana.
There is the case of the Ghanaian government, which also had consultants to advise it. Here is what the Economist magazine had to say about Ghana in its most recent issue: “With public debt hovering at 70% of GDP and debt repayment accounting for a third of government revenue, its finances are precarious. Worse, it has already squandered the windfalls it expects from the development of large offshore oilfields.
The roads are full of potholes, there are regular power cuts and big companies talk openly about moving across the border to Ivory Coast”.
There were advisors as well to the government of Liberia. Here is what a local Liberian newspaper had to say about Liberia: “As desperate as they were or are to see progress in their lives, at least from the windfalls from the oil revenues, those dreams, as of 2015 were shattered as the mammoth bureaucracy known as National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL), supposedly is ‘restructuring’ – or as some would say has gone bankrupt, courtesy of unbelievably high salaries and rampant corruption”.
Let’s be fair, no one can blame the failure and mismanagement of a country’s resources on consultants, but it does raise some serious questions about the future of Guyana’s oil revenues and their intended use. It shines the light on an ugly sore that has been like an albatross around the necks of developing countries, ie, corruption and the lack of transparency and accountability. Further it tells us that experts alone aren’t enough, and that there is something even more fundamental that is lacking, ie, a basic sense of honesty and integrity.
If past is prologue, then the rank corruption of local governments speaks volumes. The sovereign wealth fund is more likely to become a personal slush fund. I know the international community is watching and is fully aware of all that’s going on. Remember not so long ago those in the PPP thought they were untouchable and that they would be in power for life. Those who forget the past are bound to repeat it.
Yours faithfully,
Errol Thompson