Continuing his criticism of government over its alleged maladministration of the burgeoning petroleum industry, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday said that World Bank approval does not justify the sale of Guyana’s oil in breach of the country’s procurement laws.
“The World Bank cannot direct that we break procurement laws,” Jagdeo told reporters during a press conference yesterday, while addressing claims by Director of the Department of Energy (DoE) Dr Mark Bynoe that the World Bank had no issues with government’s plan to invite companies to bid to buy Guyana’s first three oil cargoes.
In response to arguments that the method used by the DoE breaches local procurement laws, Bynoe has said that no procurement laws were breached, and that the plan was examined and found to be acceptable by the World Bank.