Dear Editor,
The Oil and Gas Governance Network (OGGN) has been given immense prominence as an authoritative, legitimate, and credible organization on oil and gas matters in Guyana. Yet, there is no evidence produced by the organization, or available otherwise, corroborating its legitimacy. Interestingly, the directors of the OGGN appear to be the principal founders and are all described as renowned scholars in their respective fields. According to information on the OGGN website, the directors are: Alfred Bhulai, Dr. Andre Brandli, Dr. Janette Bulkan, Dennis Henry, Darsh Khusial, Joe Persaud, Mike Persaud, Dr. Ganga Ramdas, and Charles Sugrim.
According to OGGN, ‘we measure our success by the improvement in the lives of the 41% of the Guyanese population, who live below the poverty line, over the long term’. Further, it is stated on the OGGN website that it was created in the summer of 2017 as a registered non-profit organization in New York City, United States with 501 (c). The OGGN also claims to have no political association, and that they work for the benefit of all people of Guyana. I can recall that the OGGN had written formally to the Government of Guyana (GoG) on several key issues in the oil and gas sphere. The OGGN is also a staunch critic of the Government’s stewardship of the sector, including on issues of governance and transparency. Hence, if the OGGN wants the GoG to take it seriously, it is reasonable to expect that the OGGN withstand scrutiny and prove that it is a legitimate organization.
In order to do so, can the OGGN publish its by-laws on its website? Can the OGGN state its source of funding? Can the OGGN state whether it has audited financial statements? Can the OGGN state whether it is an advocacy body or a Think-Tank? What are the requirements to become a member? How can one become a member? What is the Governance Structure? Can the OGGN state whether it is a public charity or a private foundation?
The work of the OGGN are arguably inconsistent with, and / or, have departed from their stated mission. Two of the OGGN’s principal directors have described the carbon credit sale as a fraudulent transaction perpetrated by the GoG. Although the carbon credit funding is deployed to tangibly contribute to the development of the indigenous communities, the OGGN strongly lobbied against this. With respect to the work produced by the OGGN, assuming that they are functioning as a “think tank”, there is no evidence of any scholarly work produced from 2017 to present on the thematic areas that its principal founders have identified as its main focus. Newspaper letters and opinion pieces are woefully inadequate to be considered scholarly work emanating from such organizations.
To substantiate this view, another one of OGGN’s principal director argued that solar energy is cheaper than the gas-to-energy (GTE) project, and that the GoG should abandon the GTE and move straight to renewables. However, the OGGN failed to demonstrate a cost comparison between the two sources, and with scientific evidence to show that solar energy is sufficient for a sustainable supply of base-load energy requirements. Against all of the foregoing, the legitimacy of the OGGN is highly questionable. The findings, thus far, leaves one to question whether the OGGN is a fake organization, or if it even exists. Consequently, it is not unreasonable to conclude that the founding members of the OGGN may have participated in a deceitful endeavour, should they fail to provide the answers to the questions posed herein.
Sincerely,
Joel Bhagwandin