How can this contract possess any...

ful contract. Under these circumstances how can we consider that this contract possesses any sanctity?

This is one of the unholiest, immoral, unrighteous contract ever conceived in this country. I cannot fathom how intelligent upright citizens of this country can speak of the sanctity of this contract. Especially when the entire gamut of international bodies condemned it, with many calling for its renegotiation. Some say, well there is a clause within the contract that says it cannot be renegotiated. Well, it is just another clause and the first to be removed in any renegotiation. This government, instead of utilizing means at their disposal to pressure Exxon to come to the table, is actually breaching our laws to expedite the necessary processes.

The recent ruling by the Judge re EPA confirms this. The ruling forces the EPA to carry out its duties to hold Exxon accountable. I hope the government of Guyana does not act contrary to the interest of Guyana and appeal this. I am beginning to consider that the EPA is independent but dance to the tunes of the political hierarchy. No other than Chatham House Expert, Dr. Valerie Marcel stated that there are many ways to bell the cat. She said, “Every time they ask for an extension, every time they want to avoid penalty, every time they come back asking for something … and the companies are always coming back asking for something, each one of those opportunities is a moment to negotiate something and to trade for something you want”.

She stated that the Payara Field Development Plan was one opportunity for Guyana to capture value. Well, there were a lot of calls in the press for the VP to do just this but we recall the haste in which the VP signed off on this project. Some PPPites are recognizing Bharrat Jagdeo to be the father of the nation but I am beginning to wonder whose side he is on, whose interest he really represents. The political hierarchy seems to be complicit in the alienation of the Guyanese people from their patrimony, thus depriving future generations of their inheritance.