… accuses political parties of betraying nation
Kaieteur News- Publisher of Kaieteur News, Dr. Glenn Lall, issued a rallying cry to the Guyanese people to wake up to what he described as the “betrayal” of the nation’s interests in the oil sector.
Lall lambasted the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), the People’s National Congress (PNC), and the Alliance For Change (AFC) on Saturday, accusing all three major political parties of capitulating to ExxonMobil and failing to implement ring-fencing provisions in the country’s oil contracts.
According to him, this single policy change—ring-fencing each oil project—could transform Guyana “overnight” into a nation truly benefiting from its oil wealth.
“There is no debate,” Lall asserted on his TikTok page. “If they ring-fence the oil projects today, Guyanese could start living like an oil-rich nation tomorrow.”
He likened the current situation to a series of vivid analogies: buying feed for your chickens only to have the neighbor’s fowl eat it; planting rice and having someone else harvest and sell it, handing you back a pint of rice; or baking a cake with your own ingredients only to be tossed crumbs. In each case, Lall said, it illustrated how Guyana’s oil profits are being siphoned off by ExxonMobil while the people are left with mere “crumbs” and “10-day part-time jobs.”
“Exxon is walking away with the whole cake,” he said. “And our so-called leaders are letting them.”
He also decried the absence of basic safeguards and transparency in the sector, noting that Guyana has not installed a single independent meter to monitor daily oil production, has failed to employ qualified oil experts to oversee operations, and has passed legislation that allows ExxonMobil to pay no taxes.
Lall also criticised a recent law that shields ExxonMobil’s parent company from full liability in the event of an oil spill, calling it “disgraceful.”
He accused the government of hiding critical audit reports and refusing to place caps on Exxon’s interest charges—financial decisions that he claimed result in billions being billed to the country without proper oversight.
“Our neighbours—Trinidad, Brazil, Suriname—they all ring-fence their oil projects to avoid being robbed,” Lall said, adding, “But not Guyana.”
With the prospect of a seventh oil project on the horizon, Lall warned that the country is again poised to forgo ring-fencing, potentially deepening the losses for future generations. “This is our last chance,” he said, “to become the landlord in our own country—or a squatter in it. The choice is in your finger and your mouth.”
Appealing to Guyanese ahead of the upcoming elections on September 1, Lall urged voters to reconsider supporting the current political leadership, whom he accuses of selling out the country’s future.
“Are you really going to hand these same parties your finger on September 1st?” he asked. “Are you really going to say yes to this sellout, to being used, lied to, and robbed again?”
The message ended with a plea: “If this wakes you up, even a little—please share it. Because the truth must reach every corner of this country before it’s too late.”
Original link posted by Kaieteur News on June 01, 2025.
