Dear Editor,
As a former Minister for Mines and Minerals (1992 to 2011) I write in response to that startling front page, headline in Kaieteur News of Tuesday May 18th, and “Chinese company pays G $1000 rent per acre yearly for Guyana’s largest gold claim.” That statement is true, still absolutely true, but still absolutely true for each and every large scale gold mine, whether owned by a Chinese, a Canadian, an American, an Australian, a European, a Ghanian, an Indian, a Pakistani, a Saudi, a Guyanese, or any Nationality. At a minimum that shocking statement was “much ado about nothing”.
That startling headline (and others like those on the standard incentives on the front page of Wednesday, 19th) have been sending imaginations running wild – there were some who saw it as confirmation that Government (and Governance) in Guyana, is pursued at the whims and fancies of Ministers and Officials and there were others (sometime the same persons) who felt that it ought to be so. That is what bothered and perplexed me – that that startling headline, true but unremarkable was dismantling and destroying efforts over decades in working for a steadily more ordered, standard way of Government and Governance. I am not concerned about the Chinese Company Zijun Mining Group beyond what such action says about us, Guyanese, to them and to every other foreign investor (and to local investors as well). Kaieteur News as a responsible member of the Media should not indulge themselves so – I cannot accept that they did not think of checking whether those leases and incentives were not standard.
I am however emotionally connected to that location. I invested a lot in that location (and a number of others) in many meetings from late 1992 with father and son Patrick Sheridan Sr. and Jr., along with their adopted Guyanese family member and Country Manager, Violet Smith travelling to the prospecting camp there about 2000, boating up the Cuyuni, por-taging around Timmerman’s/Chinaman’s falls; meetings with Barama about 2007, for the shared use of their Buckhall road, and visiting Aurora by road during its construction and later flying to its opening in about 2015. Just from the outside, the reported differences amongst shareholders about its management, and subsequent sale suggest that returns have been falling below what was expected – our concern, hope and efforts should lean towards keeping the Aurora mine going profitably, if at all possible.
I want to say some similar words about our oil, calling for more comprehensive, reasonable, balanced attitude towards ESSO (and its partners) – it is time to leave behind the too often espoused position that we Guyanese are just receiving crumbs and dribbles. Don’t take that suggestion from me – I was involved, but not compromised, in urging us to put out a welcome mat and be at our most seductive when Dennison first told me about 1998 that ESSO was interested in the far off-shore where no one was yet (then) venturing. See the letters and poems from Guya-nese born, Midland Texan, Dr. Tulsi Dyal Singh – some things could have been arranged differently, many things could have been tighter but we are getting a return that is in the range.
The EXXON oil finds came about 100 years after the first search within our boundaries and after about 40 drill-holes that were non-commercial, but would have entailed expenditures/investments of about USD ten billion. We shouldn’t throw our hands up in the air saying it is just our bad luck that now that we have found our oil, climate change seems to be calling for an end to the use of fossil fuels (including oil). We must guard against the easy answers of all or nothing and consider the balanced road of development, a low carbon development (LCD) path that that our Government is arguing and pursuing.
For sure, from our history of slavery, indentureship and colonialism we want as much as we can get, and we must keep the closest watch to ensure that we get all that we should get, but perhaps even more, our struggles from, slavery, indentureship and colonialism were for us to take our equal place amongst all Humankind, equally responsible, knowledgeable, contributing, sharing and so on. With a population of less than one million in under 8 billion humans, our aim should be to develop satisfying partnerships with all other peoples of the world. And when we speak proudly that one could find a Guyanese in every significant city around the world, we are saying that we are already far along that road. Perhaps we could start in considering to develop a sense of and then the reality of partnership with ZIJIN, EXXON, HESS and CNOOC – they no doubt give away nothing but they are not the worst out there.
Yours faithfully,
Samuel A.A. Hinds
Former Minister of Mines and
Minerals
