Former Speaker of the National Assembly and Former Minister of Natural Resources, Attorney at Law Raphael Trotman accuses some embassies of silently consenting and encouraging the PPP administration exclusion policy. Trotman, was at the time voicing his disappointment with the exclusion of the political Opposition from the recently held International Energy Conference and Expo.
Trotman recalled that in 2018, Guyana held the first Oil and Gas Expo under the banner of “GIPEX” and this was successfully repeated in 2019. This year’s Expo appeared to have been successful, and kudos are extended to the organisers and participants. However, the exclusion of the Opposition left an unnecessary and unwanted stain on an otherwise pristine event, the Former Minister said.
He explained that the record would show that in 2018, when the APNU+AFC held Guyana’s first first Oil & Gas Expo, every effort was made to ensure that the world saw Guyana’s best face featured, despite our age-old quarrels. To this end, we ensured that the PPP Opposition was invited to participate and did so, not just as guests but as panelists. To this end, Charles Ramson, Jr. was nominated by the PPP to participate and did so on a panel discussion on the theme, ‘Effective Management of Guyana’s Oil & Gas Resources’, and likewise, Robert M. Persaud, immediate past Minister of Natural Resources, presented under the theme, ‘Global Experiences in Developing An Oil & Gas Sector’. That is the stark difference between then and now.
According to Trotman, today we are told that you have to be “qualified” to even be invited to view the Expo. So much for building a modern inclusive and cohesive “One Guyana”, he sarcastically stated. He credited the then APNU+AFC Government for its efforts at building a united Guyana and for attempting to change Guyana’s age-old political culture of division. In so doing, it was then President Granger who mandated Exxon to provide timely updates to the Leader of the Opposition and his team so that they were kept abreast of developments in the sector. Sadly, today the opposition has to resort to submitting motions and questions in the National Assembly to get some sense of what is happening, Trotman stated.
Disappointingly, the IOC’s and local embassies are complicit in the tearing of the social fabric even more – by giving their silent consent and encouragement to this insidious practice of exclusion. We are either going to work towards achieving the ‘One Guyana’ we hear about daily, or we will not. Ultimately, it is our choice to make, the Former Natural Resources Minister warns.
More, In The Ring.
