After more than 3 months hiatus, Parliament has been hastily called for June 10, 2021. On the Order Paper, there are three motions where I am directly involved. Unsurprisingly, our media seems only interested in the government’s motion to have me removed as Chairman of the PAC, failing to even give mention to the other two motions which are of national importance.

At the next parliamentary sitting, a motion calling on the National Assembly to express dissatisfaction with Exxon on the issue of flaring of natural gas will be debated. The motion seeks to have the government take actions of national importance, such as, direct Exxon to abide with the terms and conditions of their Liza 1 permit and request that the EPA takes all necessary measures to ensure that Exxon achieves zero flaring to be in compliance with our laws, even if a reduction of oil production rates is required until this zero target is reached. The matter of the flaring of natural gas has plagued Exxon’s operations for almost 18 months, and it has yet to be resolved. The company has provided all kinds of excuses for these failures, including that because we are a poor country and need the revenue, we should overlook these “minor” environmental issues. The latest one of their justifications – Guyana is a net carbon sink; thus this “minor” environmental issue should not affect us. Where are the environmentalists and the protectors of our nation??

Also on the Order Paper is a motion on locations of future shore bases to serve the oil and gas sector. This motion calls for the establishment of a multi-agency task force to prepare a land use policy, specifically for the oil and gas sector, as opposed to what is happening currently, whereby Exxon will determine the location of their next shore base. The motion also calls the government to direct that future onshore bases be in the Counties of Berbice and Essequibo to ensure the equitable development across the Guyana for the benefit of all Citizens. The benefits to citizens from the decentralization of the Oil and Gas sector will be unmatched and certainly support a more equitable society. The general premise is that Guyanese should have a say where and how our country develops, rather than allowing others to determine our future land use policy. Where is the concern from the media and our citizens that our Government does not want the benefits of Oil and Gas to be spread all across the three counties?? Further, how can we all say nothing when such an important decision is being taken away from our Government and citizens? Understand that when we are ready to say something it will be too late.

The most likely scenario on the sitting of Parliament on June 10th, will be that these two motions will not receive the support of the government, nor will there be any outrage or serious interest coming from the media. However, they will throw their full support on the motion to remove the Chair of the PAC, a committee which by our constitution must be chaired by the nominee of the main opposition, because “the majority of the members of the PAC have lost confidence in him as Chairperson”.

The conspiracy theorists amongst you, may be suspicious as to why the motion to remove the Chairman of PAC is tabled to be debated immediately after two motions seeking to protect our environment and reestablishing order in our future development plans?

I on the other hand, don’t believe in coincidence.

I ask you to consider our citizens and our dear land of Guyana when you answer the question,

“What does a spider’s web have in common with a game of chess”