Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has cautioned the companies currently exploring Guyana’s oil and gas industry not to get involved in underhand deals or illegal purchasing of lands, stating that it will be exposed.
At his weekly press conference on Thursday, the Opposition Leader indicated that under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, such acts will not be condoned or overlooked by any extent.
“I want to urge the oil companies who are here, that any purchase of land or assets that are illegally transferred, we will not allow it to stand. They will be exposed. Deals that are tied up with people who are using lands in dispute or lands that have been illegally transferred to tie up joint venture arrangements with the foreigners. They have no guarantee from a PPP Government that we will respect any of the arrangements they tie up…I want to make that clear to all the oil companies that are here,” Jagdeo said.
Back in August, Jagdeo had alleged that there are many investors coming to Guyana to take advantage of underhand deals and are benefitting from land giveaways, during a time when the Government should be in a caretaker mode.
This, he signalled, was even more worrying for Guyana with the absence of a Local Content Policy to protect the interests of Guyanese.
“Let me tell you something about local content. Before the Government changes, almost all of the opportunities that are going [to] be available for our people are gonna be gone… There is no Local Content Policy. We will become second class citizens in this country because this Government doesn’t care, and is not looking out for Guyanese and is part of these deals,” he stressed.
According to Jagdeo, while Guyana can benefit from the expertise of its neighbours, he believes Guyanese should be able to broker the same benefits as foreigners.
“When are you gonna protect our people; when you gonna have the courage to protect our people through a solid Local Content Policy… I don’t have a problem with people coming here. I believe they have a lot of expertise in the oil and gas sector, we need skilled people but they must come in transparently and Guyanese must have the opportunity to access the same resources they are getting now at this rate,” he contended.
The Opposition Leader went on to say that under a PPP Administration, the establishment of such a policy could materialise within a matter of one month.
