The enshrining of the US$18m signing bonus in the 2016 agreement between Guyana and ExxonMobil’s subsidiary was clearly the reason why the government kept the document hidden, according to Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.
In a statement yesterday following the government’s long-awaited release of the petroleum agreement, Jagdeo said that the reason for refusing to make the contract with ExxonMobil public over a year and a half after it was signed, in spite of a relentless campaign by the media, many civil society was made apparent by the inclusion of the signing bonus in the agreement.
He charged that the contract exposes the false claims by the APNU+AFC government that a clause inserted in the Petroleum Act by the PPP/C and national security concerns prevented its disclosure.