December 17,2017
The government collected US$18 million from ExxonMobil as a signing bonus and opened a floodgate of criticisms. The most recent of the criticisms was that “they intended to steal it,” that comment coming from none other than Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.
I noted that the money was deposited into the Central Bank and that no fewer than six people were authorised signatories. That did not mean that six signatures were required for withdrawals, but there were checks and balances. But I wasn’t satisfied that the money would eventually disappear, so I began to wonder who would steal the money.
Of course, the Finance Minister would have access to the money, as would some other people in the Ministry of Finance. I then asked none other than Anil Nandlall about stealing money and hiding it. Nandlall said to me that it is easy to hide money, and opened my eyes to some things that had been troubling me for a long time.
I had been hearing reports of government officials stealing money from the public treasury. Being naïve, I thought that there would be some paper trail, but when the investigators failed to find many of them I began to understand that Anil Nandlall knew a thing or two which he was not prepared to share with me.
Then my mind shifted to my friend, Winston Jordan. I never knew him to be a thief and like me he was mortally afraid of jail.
I thought of some others and at each thought I realized that the Finance Minister would know when any money was being moved. But then again, my suspicious mind moved to the fact that my friend Winston could work in cahoots with the person trying to steal the money.
That didn’t add up, because thieves tend to work with people they trust. Winston does not trust too many people. So I began to think about a direct link to the oil company. Money could be offered to local individuals as they would say, under the table. It would have to be put in some account. If it is a local account, the bank would observe a suspicious transaction, unless the bank was in league with this person or persons.
President David Granger did not rule out the fact that people in his government could be compromised. He reminded that the Man above could not offer a guarantee that among his followers would not be people who would be compromised. But then he told me that the person would be caught and I did not doubt him.
The suspicion of theft must have lingered in my mind from days gone by. I remember at a press conference asking Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo whether he was a wealthy person. He told me to ask Glenn Lall that question, and I did, although I knew the answer.
My reason for asking Jagdeo that question was to determine the source of his wealth.
Anil Nandlall told me that when Jagdeo became president he had nothing. It meant that the wealth was accumulated over the twelve years of the presidency, so I looked at the salary and allowances. They did not add up.
I looked at others, one of them being Irfaan Ali. He too is a wealthy person. He had no inheritance, but he became wealthy without playing the stock market.
Anil Nandlall is wealthy, but he was a lawyer of some distinction.
He got his money from his profession. I perused the list of wealthy people who served in Government positions and concluded that money came from a variety of sources, most of them illegal.
That being the case, it is not difficult to understand why the accusation of theft would surface. From the opposition benches. Member of Parliament Juan Edghill is leading the charge, and for good reason.
He enjoyed the good life during the tenure of the previous administration, to the point where he too is comfortable, but not as comfortable as some of the others.
He wants a return to the seat of power and this time he would ensure that he never has to worry about his future. He would redouble his capacity to gain wealth.
But for all this I am still puzzled by the attitude of the Foreign Minister. He enjoys a close relationship with the oil giant, even closer than the Minister who has responsibility for Natural Resources.
He is pushing the hardest for Kaieteur News to back off on its criticisms and exposes of ExxonMobil. I can understand the development of a friendship, but this seems to be even more than a friendship. It is as if there is a relationship.
The oil company cannot be fazed by a small backyard newspaper, and if something happens, most companies would approach the newspaper either to lodge a formal complaint or to offer a chance at an interview to explain its position. This has not been done.
And there is the comment by the Foreign Minister that he advised President David Granger to keep the US$18 million a secret. Just a day before the president had spoken on the issue and had accepted responsibility.
In the world of politics, the Head of State invariably has the last say, so why did the Foreign Minister seek to comment after the president?
At Friday’s press conference hosted by President Granger I was tempted to ask if there was going to be any sanction, even at the personal level, but I let the opportunity slip. Indeed the Foreign Minister would be involved, because of the territorial issue with Venezuela.
That country is laying claim to the waters in which ExxonMobil is operating.
However, apart from giving assurances to the oil giant, I cannot understand anything else. The oil company complained to the Foreign Minister instead of to the Minister with responsibility for Information and the Foreign Minister communicated his displeasure with a reporter instead of the administration of the newspaper. Life is like that, I suppose.
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