The Alliance For Change (AFC) is greatly concerned about the oil spill off the coast of Tobago and its implications for this country.
In a release yesterday, the AFC stressed that it takes Guyana’s nascent oil sector very seriously and said that it was less than impressed with the stewardship of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the nation’s patrimony, stating, “The EPA is now a shadow of its former self.”
The AFC said that the oil spill off Tobago’s coast is of interest to the party on many fronts. The release informed that in an effort to get a first-hand view of the situation, the AFC dispatched its General Secretary, Sherod Duncan to the location.
It reminded too that local stakeholders here in Guyana have wrestled with government and ExxonMobil to enforce and produce evidence of the US$2 billion Parent Company Guarantee that would safeguard the national interest in such a scenario.
According to an editorial in the Trinidad Express, the Tobago House of Assembly and the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), informed that the oil slick measures 48 nautical miles (88 kilometers) long and 0.13 nautical miles (240 meters) wide.
The editorial also noted, “mystery continues to surround ownership of the tug and barge, its behaviour on its journey to Guyana, and the identity and fate of its crew.” The “Solo Creed” is yet to be found.
Further, the affected area has now widened, moving into Grenada’s territorial waters and the Spice Island has in turn contacted the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency and other partners. It is also noted that the slick is approaching Venezuela’s northern marine territory.
The AFC noted that Trinidadian energy expert, Anthony Paul, like others, have concerns with how Trinidad has responded to the event and their pace. Paul said of Trinidad, “We are too long in this game.” And this the AFC said, begs the question, “How would Guyana with its weak institutions and overwhelming political interference… fare?
