Dear Editor,
I was in two minds as to whether or not to respond to Joel Bhagwandin’s latest uninformed remarks since reading his work feels suspiciously like a waste of time, but it occurred to me that this is an opportunity to demonstrate how the Opposition differs from the government. Exxon did not merely tell the Opposition that the government had agreed to a reduction from $214 million to $3 million in the cost oil audit, as Mr. Bhagwandin has asserted in a recent letter. Rather, the Opposition, concerned by this reduction, raised the issue and specifically expressed concern at IHS Markit’s report that even after several requests the Operator had not provided sufficient documentation. We sought an explanation because we found this to be unacceptable.
Has the PPP confronted the Operator about this? Second Vice President Jagdeo has said the government will come down on the Operator “like a ton of bricks” if they don’t provide audit information. Given we now have an auditor complaining about this very issue, where are his bricks? As usual, when it comes to holding the Operator accountable, the government’s words are empty. Further, we have maintained our position that all audits should be released so that they can be scrutinized. I said this, calling for a cohesive, structured audit process, in my most recent press conference remarks. Even if the GRA had agreed with the $3 million reduction, public scrutiny would have allowed Guyanese to feel confident in this critical audit process, and that kind of transparency is our goal.
Last, I want to dispute this odd argument that the government is taking responsibility for this issue. We simply do not believe that such a reduction could have occurred without the knowledge of senior members of the PPP. Even in the best case scenario, the PPP did not do what we did, that is to say ask for an explanation. If they had done any digging at all, they would have discovered the GRA was not in agreement with the reduced amount. The PPP either engaged in an attempt to defraud the Guyanese people or shut their eyes when they saw this shocking drop in the amount Guyana could recover. If the PPP really wants to take responsibility for what happened this portfolio should be removed from Bharrat Jagdeo. It’s as simple as that.
Sincerely,
Elson Low,
Economic and Youth Policy Advisor
to the Leader of the Opposition
