Dear Editor,
Mr Ram has apparently made up his mind that the Opposition cannot be included among the local champions of renegotiation. In his justified lambasting of the PPP for its betrayal and intransigence on the matter, he seems to believe that his narrative would be incomplete, or his mission unfulfilled, if he did not also stick to the obligatory sweeping criticisms at the PNCR and its Leader, notwithstanding the evidence of the falsity of his criticisms.
On Sunday, the PNCR issued a media release, titled “Christopher Ram’s criticisms of the PNCR’s positions on oil and gas are again baseless” in response to Mr Ram’s main assertion that the party and its Leader Aubrey Norton lack interest in this crucial issue and have failed to articulate any coherent position on renegotiation. In his responding letter to the editor in SN yesterday, Mr Ram chose to either ignore, minimize or distort most of the PNCR’s rebuttal and still held on to his unfounded claim that “their defensiveness only confirms the validity of my comments on his weak opposition to the Agreement.”
Let’s see. Bafflingly, Mr Ram’s still contends that nowhere in party’s 20-point statement on oil and gas does the word “renegotiation” appear, when, in fact, Point #10 clearly states “Considering the vastly changed conditions since the signing of the 2016 Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) and consistent with Article 32.1 of the PSA, we will complete a top-to-bottom review of the PSA and then engage the Stabroek Block Partners, to maximize the benefits of the oil resources to the people of Guyana while ensuring a fair share of profit for Stabroek Block Partners. The review will include, but not be limited to ring-fencing of projects, oil tax regime, environmental responsibilities, decommissioning, transparency, the timely reporting of information, regulatory oversight and real-time monitoring, auditing, local content, shared management and decision-making in operations in the oil and gas sector.”
What does Mr Ram imagine “consistent with Article 32.1 of the PSA” (which mentions amendments and renegotiations) means? What does Mr Ram think “engage the Stabroek Block Partners” foretells”? Evidently, the discussion on “renegotiation” in Guyana has so contorted the English Language that the only way now to mean renegotiation is to say renegotiation. Any use of a synonym or equivalent expression is considered “weak” or “defensive”. Even saying “inviting and engaging the Stabroek Block partners” fails Ram’s test of strength and authenticity.
Mr Ram, however, has now helpfully provided guidance on what he considers fighting for the interests of the Guyanese people. His guidance to the PNCR and Mr Norton is to “join the rest of Guyana in calling on the Ali Administration to immediately initiate renegotiation procedures under Article 32.1 of the Agreement.” I would leave Mr Ram to confirm for himself the extent to which the party has done so. Instead, I wish to posit that a more effective way for an Opposition party to pressure a government is to give the commitment that should it win office it would urgently implement the very policy. And, as indicated in Sunday’s PNCR Media Release, the PNCR and its Leader have repeatedly said so. For instance, on 4th June 2023, KN reported the Opposition Leader as announcing: “A new Coalition government will invite the company to the negotiation table within its first 50 days in government.” On October 12, KN, in reporting on the party’s press conference the day before, carried the headline “Norton confident in PNCR’s ability to change terms of ExxonMobil oil deal.” The PNCR clearly sees renegotiation as an urgent national priority.
Lastly, advocates of renegotiation, patriots all, should come to terms with a stark reality. The Guyanese people in general will not galvanize or mobilize on the issue once the PPP remains in office. The reason is simple. They have all concluded that, even should the PPP manage to get a better deal, that additional wealth will not reach their purses and pockets. Too much of it will be wasted or find its merry way into the hands of PPP cronies. Only should the people sense that the additional wealth would directly benefit them would they engage in large numbers in support of the government of the day. Mr Norton and the Opposition have therefore read the situation well and are correct in promising the Guyanese people that a new coalition government would urgently call Exxon to the table to (ah, let us use the magic word) renegotiate the oil contract.
Yours faithfully,
Sherwood Lowe