“Regardless of a referendum ExxonM has to consent to change oil deal- AG, Anil Nandlall

Nov 14, 2024 News

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Kaieteur News-Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, has dismissed calls for a referendum on the ExxonMobil 2016 profit sharing agreement (PSA), labelling the proposal as “politically driven” and “a waste of time.”

His comments differ from that of Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo who has not altogether ruled out a vote on the lopsided contract, but instead insisted that he does not want to confuse citizens with such an exercise at this time.

According to a Department of Public Information release, Nandlall speaking on his weekly programme “Issues in the News,” Minister Nandlall criticised the Alliance For Change (AFC) and Working People’s Alliance (WPA) for proposing a referendum on an agreement they finalised without prior public consultation or input from the then opposition.

According to DPI, the legal affairs minister described the AFC’s push for public interference as “ridiculous” and hypocritical, arguing that “they (AFC) hid this contract for nearly two years without telling the people of Guyana that they have signed a contract that is perhaps the most important document ever signed in the history of Guyana.”

Moreover, he said that the legal framework of the PSA explicitly states that it cannot be altered without permission from both parties, rendering any referendum powerless regardless of public sentiment.  “The contract itself says in about 10 clauses…that it cannot be altered unilaterally. It can only be altered with consent by both parties,” the minister said. Acknowledging the unfavourable terms of the agreement, Minister Nandlall declared that the government will honour the agreement to protect Guyana’s credentials as an honest investment destination until a renegotiation is made possible.

By honouring the agreement, Guyana will solidify itself as a country committed to respecting all international agreements and democratic principles including the rule of law. According to the AG, the rule of law is imperative to economic success as “obeying the rule of law is instrumental in creating the type of investment that will conduce to large investments coming to your country.”

Committed to transparent governance, the government has publicised its standard PSA model. Further, all contracts signed by the government going forward will be done in accordance with the established and critically approved PSA model.

Meanwhile, Jagdeo last week at his weekly news conference did not completely rule out the idea of having a referendum to renegotiate the 2016 oil deal but he told reporters that he wants the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to place its focus solely on the 2025 elections. Jagdeo said that the opposition has found a new cause to speak on and this is the referendum. “So one of the new causes… the people who signed the 2016 contract want referendum now, they and the WPA. They want to obfuscate the key issues, they don’t want to talk about delivery of house lots to people, fulfilling their dream of owning a home, they don’t want to talk about lower mortgage rates for people, they don’t want to talk about assistance in building, like core homes or young professional homes.”

He stressed that the opposition is not speaking about the expansion of healthcare, the new water treatment plants nor the iron removal plants and a number of other achievements of the government but they are desperately looking “to find some issue to mobilise themselves around. So I hear it’s referendum not they want to talk about referendum on thing…this is the same party that signed the 2016 agreement.” The VP made it clear that his government will not be caught in that trap as “GECOM must focus on preparing for the 2025 elections…They would love to have GECOM or someone else particularly GECOM divert their attention to something else. We are not falling into that trap at all. So that’s the only thing that they can come up with right now.”

On November 5, the Kaieteur News reported that the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) said that it supports the call for a referendum on the 2016 oil contract with ExxonMobil ahead of the 2025 General and Regional Elections. The WPA said too while it does not oppose such move, “we strongly feel that such a referendum must also cover the distribution of the oil resources to the people and a form of governance to be adopted as we transition into a petro state,” Dr. David Hinds co-leader of the party said.” The party is of the view that the issues are interrelated and therefore the government’s contract with ExxonMobil and its partners should not be examined separately from the government’s “political social contract” with the citizens of Guyana.

For its part, the Alliance For Change (AFC) said it too supports calls for a referendum on the deal. Chairman of the party, David Patterson in response to a question posed by Kaieteur News made it clear that the AFC believes that a referendum should be held prior to the 2025 elections. However, Patterson made it clear that oil and gas is not the lone issue that requires a referendum. He pointed to the need to make amendments to certain clauses in the Constitution and those proposed amendments should be put to a vote via a referendum.

In addition to the political parties, several commentators and ordinary citizens supported the call for a referendum. Chartered Account and lawyer, Christopher Ram weighing in on the matter has said that Jagdeo is looking for excuses to downplay calls for a referendum on the renegotiation of the country’s oil contract with U.S. oil giant, ExxonMobil. In a recent column published in the Stabroek News titled, ‘Renegotiations, Referendums, and Reality–response to Ram & McRae’s Survey,’ Ram said that the Vice President has no power to decide whether Guyanese can have a referendum. “Let us be clear: it is not within any VP’s power to decide whether Guyanese can have a referendum. The Constitution establishes referendums as a democratic tool, with such decisions resting with the National Assembly and the President, not with a party official, however high up. While Mr. Jagdeo is the General Secretary of the ruling party, he is not even the First Vice President – that position belongs to Brigadier Mark Phillips by virtue of his position as Prime Minister.”

Additionally, businessman, and advocate for a better oil deal, Glenn Lall also joined calls for the referendum. Lall told this newspaper that the nation cannot sit silently and watch ExxonMobil, with the full support of the government and other leaders, haul away “our oil by the barrel, while handing us our share by the teaspoon.” He added: “how can we stay quiet, knowing that the PNC/AFC sold us out with such a lopsided deal and still keep on smiling through it all? How can we keep living with our mouths shut, watching the PPP, who once criticised and condemned that very deal, now sitting comfortably in office, embracing that same arrangement and accepting that same meagre teaspoon?”

The issue of a referendum comes amid the government and opposition stubbornly refusing to demand changes to the contract to include among other things ring-fencing provisions, a higher royalty and for the company to pay taxes.

A referendum is a general vote by the electorate on a single political question that has been referred to them for a direct decision. Lall acknowledging that several citizens have been calling for renegotiation said, if Guyanese truly want the contract to change, then it must come from them. “From all of us. It is crystal clear that none of the country’s three main political parties are going to lift a finger to make the changes we so desperately need—to give us our rightful share by the barrel rather than by the teaspoon. Why won’t they act? You and I both know the answer to that, and we cannot allow this betrayal to continue into another election. The time has come to demand our rightful share by demanding a referendum on this oil contract.”

(“Referendum on oil contract is a waste of time”)

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• AG Nandlall, Alliance For Change, ExxonMobil, profit sharing agreement, Referendum on oil contract

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