Latest update March 29th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jan 08, 2022 News
…as Glenn Lall slams hurried passage of new oil fund law
…says Ali’s Act gives more powers to President, Minister
Kaieteur News – The rushed signing into law of the new Natural Resources Fund (NRF) Act, is an extremely evil act and citizens are called upon stand against it, Publisher of the Kaieteur News, and Radio Host, Glenn Lall said.
He also charged that contrary to President Irfaan Ali’s assertion, the new law (which his administration used its one-seat majority to pass last week) invests more powers in the government through the President and Finance Minister, to manipulate the fund and also appoint government sympathizers to sit on critical committees.
Lall, who had called for a protest against, last week’s passage of the bill, said the manoeuvres by the PPP/C government, was a well-planned and orchestrated move by the hierarchy of the administration.
As such he asked, whether as a nation, citizens will sit back “like lambs being led to the slaughter,” or demand that all these “corrupt deals and laws be changed.”
There has been widespread condemnation of the new NRF law, with a sleuth of civil society organisations, media houses and ordinary citizens criticising its provisions and the enormous powers vested in the President to appoint members of the governing board and other committees.
The opposition since has also vowed to keep up the pressure on the government regarding the new law, promising to challenge its controversial passage in the National Assembly last week.
“I came out of my house and did a special Christmas Day programme to enlighten you guys on this law that the Ali administration was rushing to shove down our throats. I called for you guys to join me in a protest, some of you guys came out but I had expected half of Guyana to show up,” Lall said on Monday, during his weekly radio programme ‘The Glenn Lall Show.’
An advocate for a “better oil deal,” which includes the renegotiation of the ExxonMobil contract that gives Guyana only 2 percent royalty, Lall told citizens: “if drastic changes do not happen immediately, Guyana will become one million times worse off than some of those African and Asian countries that are producing oil, but because of their corrupt leaders their countries have become impoverished.”
Lall asserted that none of the oil contracts in the world resembles the one Guyana signed with ExxonMobil and which the PPP/C Government said, it will not renegotiate—although they criticised it while in opposition less than two years ago.
Lall said too, that all the countries in the world have set up NRFs, with proper rules, regulations and stiff penalties including jail time for officials who misuse it.
“But…Guyana has no oil contract that benefits anyone of us and the oil law they rushed through Parliament last Wednesday night in 20 minutes and signed into law before cock crow Thursday morning is not evil, but extremely evil…” the businessman stated.
Coalition vs. PPP
Among reasons given to justify the changes and repeal of the old law, President Ali said, it was passed by the coalition after the administration fell by a no-confidence motion and that the PPP/C had no input.
He went on to say, the law had a set of flaws that they wanted to correct and that it had no governing body which gave the minister all the power on the oil account.
However, Mr. Lall said this is not the case noting that under the coalition’s law there were three sets of committees to overlook the oil fund.
“He (Ali) said their law that they pass will reduce the power vested in the minister, then he went on to say he will introduce a board of directors, which will be hand-picked by him, so what that tells you, is that he will have all the power, what he tells them to do they will have to do. Isn’t this the same thing he accused the coalition of doing, he is now doing?” Lall questioned. “Keep your eyes on them Guyana, keep your eyes on these people—they are bad for your health, your livelihood and extremely dangerous for future generations. Yes those little unborn kids.”
The President also said that the board will have people from the Private Sector, which drew some cynicism from Lall.
“I had to smile when I heard that. You know why? Because the same Private Sector Commission was invited to sit down at the signing of the Local Content Law, not the oil account law you know. That one was signed secretly the day before; early in morning before cock crow. The nation only knew about it until the following day through a statement put out by government, and the Private Sector Commission was in high praise for both laws. Them is the same people who he boasting about that will be on the oil account money. That is the board he is boasting about that will be independent. You got to love this country and you got to love these corrupt leaders,” Lall stated.
Referencing the claim that there will be rigid oversight and scrutiny of the management of the fund with three to 10 years jail for the finance minister not disclosing how much money is deposited and withdrawn from the account, Lall observed, “there is no jail if they abuse the money, not a single day in jail, not even an hour….”
Fellow citizens, did you hear the President say anything about if the law directs the minister to divulge information on how, who and where your oil money will be invested? No; not a word about that and that is where the abuse of your oil money will pass,” Lall lamented.
BETTER OIL CONTRACT
Meanwhile, Lall said amid the controversy surrounding the New NRF, Guyana remains disadvantaged by the lopsided oil contract given to ExxonMobil. “Every foreign player in this land fetching out our resources, without any contract whatsoever that protects us, without any law to safeguard us. On top of this, the leaders of this country passing laws to thief legally. The 2 percent Exxon contract was signed by Raphael Trotman under the Coalition government, in which they gave away 600 oil blocks, when the law stipulates no more than 60. And what Guyana was told? No laws were broken. President Ali not passing law to retrieve the 540 oil blocks from Exxon so we can rake in some billions of US Dollars. Kaieteur and Canje were signed away. If you total the blocks, it is as big as the Stabroek Block and what Guyana was told again? No laws were broken. President Ali and the other financial gurus of this land are not wise enough to enact laws that can correct those highway robberies, of the people’s assets and livelihoods. They were in a rush to pass laws to steal the little money that will be coming in from the oil,” Lall said.
Only this week, the Oil and Gas Governance Network (OGGN) said that the ‘forceful’ passage of the legislation governing the oil account is in breach of transparency standards and an international agreement Guyana adopted since 2018 that speaks to the inclusion of the public, and access to information – two key ingredients that were lacking when the Bill was passed in the National Assembly on December 29, 2021.
The OGGN said too that it is “extremely disappointed” that the Government rushed through the passage of such an important Bill which it even dared to describe as the “mother of all bills”. It said that Guyana is a signatory of the 56-member Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) – the global standard for the good governance of oil, gas and mineral resources, which has seven standards. Standard 1.3 focuses on Civil Society engagement.
“In accordance with the civil society protocol, some requirements that must be adhered to by countries implementing the EITI include: Civil society must be fully, actively and effectively engaged in the EITI process; the government must ensure that there is an enabling environment for civil society participation with regard to relevant laws, regulations, and administrative rules as well as actual practice in implementation of the EITI; the fundamental rights of civil society…must be respected, the government must ensure that there are no obstacles to civil society participation in the EITI process; the government must refrain from actions which result in narrowing or restricting public debate in relation to implementation of the EITI,” the specialists reasoned.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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