March 26 2019
“Anyone who has a track record that is ethically compromised should be kept far away from Guyana’s oil future. As such, I see Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, and his cohorts as great risks to the nation’s oil industry. They should be kept at bay.”
These were the words of Oil and Gas Consultant, Dr. Jan Mangal, during an interview with the Guyana Standard yesterday.
His comments are in wake of Jagdeo’s revelation last week that he has an interest in crafting policies for Guyana’s oil sector if the PPP is elected to office.
During an interview with radio personality, Stan Gouveia, on 94.1 Boom FM, the Opposition Leader said, “I have travelled to Venezuela, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, many other countries and almost all of them [demonstrate that] if you don’t integrate oil money well in the system, if you use up all of it, you [end up being] worse off than you were before.”
He added, “So policy-making, I have some experience in that; that’s what I want to do for the new government. I want to contribute in a way that ensures that we get more jobs for our people, have a broad-based outlook and, as General Secretary of the party, I believe I can make that difference.”
But regardless of Jagdeo’s enthusiasm to “make that difference” in the oil sector, Dr. Mangal sought to remind that the former president and his cohorts have a track record which speaks to the lack of transparency.
The Petroleum Consultant said, “Jagdeo and his cohorts like [Former Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment] Robert Persaud are risks to Guyana’s oil sector because they gave away the Canje and Kaieteur blocks for next to nothing. So the only reason governments give away blocks like that, is usually because of corruption.”
Dr. Mangal added, “The way those blocks were given away by the PPP, it says that those involved are already in the pockets of the oil companies. ExxonMobil and French oil major, Total, have farmed into those blocks and these politicians who gave it away for nothing are already under the control of the companies.”
The former Presidential Advisor said that these PPP politicians have essentially proven that they have no interest in helping Guyana.
