Dear Editor,
In a recent book, ‘From Destiny to Prosperity’ the former Minister of Natural Resources of the Coalition government, Mr. Raphael Trotman, has explained how he felt for accepting the advice of ExxonMobil to conceal from the Guyanese people and from public discussions the amount of recompense to Guyana for allowing Exxon to exploit the oil resources.
The minister does this in his own words and language, but in effect, he expressed regret that he had, in good faith, accepted the advice from ExxonMobil and paid tribute to his children and others who had encouraged him to write a book about it. He has written his book and has cleared his side of the mishandling of the negotiations with Exxon, people who have no interest in anything but profit.
Together with this, we have the pronouncements of Vice President Jagdeo in presenting a bill for the management of the oil industry and his declaration that, in effect, consultation is a waste of time and a humbug, explaining his decision to hand potent power over to one person, the minister, a continuation of the one-person rule. Mr. Jagdeo comes from a tradition in which one person rule and rule by one party had been firmly established and persists in far too many countries. Mr. Trotman’s candid comments on his trust in those who represented the Corporation is one of the results of the missionary zeal I accused ExxonMobil’s spokesperson who had made bold to tutor the elected representative of a sovereign country.
However, while welcoming Mr. Trotman’s correction of his own attitude, I invite readers able and inclined to do so to investigate the constitutional implications of collective responsibility, which is at least mentioned, if not explained in the Guyana Constitution.
Sincerely,
Eusi Kwayana
