…of, or on, PNC?
Well, look wha happen heah! Joe Harmon – erstwhile Guyana’s Leader of the Opposition (Guy LOO) – has written to the Chairman of Exxon demanding that he and his “Shadow Energy Minister” David Patterson and other MPs meet with their local subsidiary. When your Eyewitness saw the headline, his eyes lit up since he figured at long last the PNC was owing up to the disastrous contract their “negotiator” Raphael Trotman had signed for oil.
With their obviously superior knowledge as to why Trotman had given away the store (and then some!), they were the only ones who could get Exxon back to the table to RENEGOTIATE the contract! Was Trotman given some “inducements” under the table apart from the wining and dining and 5-star hotel accommodation? Did Harmon have some information on which offshore bank accounts these “inducements” might’ve been lodged in?
Did they have info that Trotman didn’t have the “capacity” to sign a valid contract? We know he wasn’t a minor…but did he lack “mental capacity”? Was he under the influence of “drugs or alcohol”? These would all be grounds for making the contract “voidable”
After all, there’re all these Guyanese “oil experts” – especially from “foreign” – demanding “renegotiation”. But the PPP’ve been balking – pointing out (not unreasonably) that since the contract was a valid one as far as they know, Exxon had to’ve since committed some material breach to demand renegotiation. The problems with the compressor and the flaring aren’t “material” enough – contrary to the claims of the above-mentioned “foreign armchair experts”.
Was Harmon taking the opportunity to pull the rug out from under the PPP’s feet and close that 5000 vote gap between the PPP’s and PNC’s votes? Nah… couldn’t be that since it would mean that Harmon’s admitting his election petition is a “cock” and Irfaan Ali isn’t only the President conditionally but ABSOLUTELY! But as your Eyewitness went beyond the headline, he realised that Harmon was just talking about the flaring because of the still-problematic compressor.
But the PPP have already made their displeasure known about the flaring and Exxon has reduced production by 75 per cent to produce the least amount of associated natural gas. So what exactly does Harmon achieve with his “demand”. Well, your Eyewitness will tell you what. He realises he’s drifted into oblivion in the public consciousness – including his own base – and is desperately clutching at “gas” to save himself.
His tactic to “not recognise” Irfaan Ali as President while insisting he’s the “LOO” – through the same elections process – has exposed him to universal snickers.
He obviously wants to enjoy the salary, office and perks of the LOO, but not the responsibility to be a “loyal opposition”.
What a joker!
…on dams and access
They say “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. With the complaints of the rice farmers of Upper Corentyne about the horrendous condition of their roads to their crops in the “back dam”, we might point out to the authorities that “an agricultural road on the cultivated coast is worth two in the virgin intermediate savannahs”. The point is that rice farmers on our coast built and sustained the largest agricultural industry in the country on their own – even as the sugar industry went into a tailspin after the ministrations of the PNC in the 1970s.
They’ve increased their production to over 600,000 tonnes which places us in the top 15 rice exporters in the world, bringing in US$222 million in 2019!! This is a big bird in the hand! We’ve heard of the Government’s $500 million committed to roads and other infrastructure to facilitate producing US$25 million in soya and corn.
Let’s get those coastal farm-to-market roads fixed!!
…on personal crime
We’re losing our perspective on the upsurge in crimes against persons. In the recent robbery on city businessman Mattai, some suggest he should’ve had an automatic gate opener.
Where do we stop after grilled doors and windows, CCTVs and high fences?.
