As he underscored that enough is not being done by government for the development of the critical oil and gas sector, Opposi-tion Leader Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday roasted government over its handling of the sector, saying it needs to come clear on timelines for policies.
Referencing the Guyana Petroleum Summit (GPS) and the Offshore Techno-logy Conference (OTC), the two oil and gas conferences held in Houston, Texas this week, at which Guyana was showcased, Jagdeo said the events provided evidence that there is no apt government participation and thus no tangible returns for the ordinary citizens here.
The OTC, held in the NGR Park, Houston, wrapped up yesterday, while the GPS began at the Marriott Marquis and will conclude today.
This is the 50th year of hosting for the not-for-profit OTC conference, which is sponsored by 13 other organisational bodies, such as the Oceanic Engineering Society, the Marine Technology Society and the American Society of Civil Engineers, among others.
The Georgetown Cham-ber of Commerce and Industry had teamed up with the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) to send a team to the conference, in the hopes of not only selling Guyana, but securing business and investment opportunities for small entrepreneurs here.
The GPS is held in collaboration with the Bank of America, Totaltec and other companies.
“I kept wondering what our government said to the summit. And from all that is coming back from Texas, they say absolutely nothing. We have failed Guyana and are failing Guyana, this government is, in ensuring that the oil sector really is led in a fashion and steered to benefit Guyanese,” he told a press conference yesterday.
“It seems we are allowing a few people, local people, but the international community to define where we go in this industry. If that happens, ordinary Guyanese will get the crumbs from this sector because our government keeps failing us. They failed us in the contract negotiation and they are now failing us on a daily basis when they do not give clarity or define [the ways] in which everyone will operate in this sector; how our interest will be protected. They are absent from that summit in a substantive way,” he added.
‘No clear definition’
Former Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, is slated to speak at the GPS, a move Jagdeo believes is ill advised and would serve no benefit to this country, even as he blasted government for its overall handling of the sector.
“You don’t need my word, you just have to check Mr. Gaskin. It had nothing to do with a clear definition of the industry. We have seen locally the same abdication of duty for this transformative sector. We had a minister, they were supposed to establish a (petroleum) commission, the commission never got established, and they submitted a bill that was so outrageous that they had to shelve it; a bill to the parliament to establish that commission. Then the president removed the responsibility from the minister and the president has assumed the responsibility himself. Now what do we have? The president is missing,” he stated.
Turning to the management of the Department of Energy (DOE), Jagdeo said that while he believes current Head Dr. Mark Bynoe is well versed in matters of the environment, he is incapable of managing the petroleum sector, a sector he believes will be this country’s biggest income earner.
“You have a technical staff, someone who I have respect for… I know him from the days of climate change, he has great expertise in that sector, but he is hopelessly ill informed without the requisite skills to manage and speak on behalf of the government on policy issues in this critical sector. He seems to be very political recently, going out and lie to young people on the opportunities in the sector, which are not many. The government has not defined local content in a manner that benefits us. He speaks on a daily basis on what our environment policy …he is very prolific and gets the media attention, but for routine things,” he said.
“We don’t have a model contract, a definitive one, we don’t have a petroleum commission, we don’t have a local content policy…all we are talking about is getting some money from abroad to work in the future. And every single day that passes by without a clear definition of this sector allows the opportunities to slip away from Guyanese because we get locked into agreements that would be long-term in nature and that is my big worry,” he added.
And as the issue of General Elections looms, the PPP General Secretary said that his party will bring to the people, a swift, clear, and outlined plan for the oil and gas sector, should it be voted into office.
Clear definition
“One thing you will have from a PPP government, within five/six months, [is] a clear definition on all of these issues. Every single one of them. Right now they are not being addressed and it is a free for all in this sector,” he stated.
“We go to Houston and tell people to come to Guyana and invest and I’ve seen on a daily basis people come here. And they all have one story— we can’t see anyone from the government, we don’t know where they will finish… I have to say to them, be patient. Come to Guyana regardless come and invest,” he added.
“Despite all of these articles emanating from the Department of Energy, we have a consultant from abroad now and a person— one person— who has no expertise in this sector, determining our future in this sector and our policy makers. The entire government has disappeared. This is bothersome. This is an important thing. We are not doing anything much but we keep building the government bureaucracy,” he added, while calling government “top-heavy” in terms of the number of policy advisors it has.
