Executive Member of the Alliance For Change, Khemraj Ramjattan, today called for the scrapping of a 2014 parliamentary rule, which essentially blocks private companies and organisations from appearing before the Parliamentary Sectorial Committee on Natural Resources. 

At an AFC press conference today, Mr. Ramjattan said the Government is holding tight to that rule to prevent ExxonMobil and other companies from appearing before the Committee.

He told reporters that the fact that ExxonMobil is operating offshore Guyana with a license given to it by the Government, it becomes an agent of the Government for the extraction of a resource for Guyana, and should therefore be made to appear before the Parliamentary Committee to answer questions.

“The law in relation to summoning witnesses and companies are already very clear in order standing orders whereby these various sectoral committees and standing committees have the power to call in companies or companies CEO and it is rather stranger that our Natural Resources Committee as it presently exists have to be bound by some decision that was made 10 years ago,” Ramjattan said.

Additionally, Mr. Ramjattan said the Government’s argument of precedence cannot stand, pointing out that ExxonMobil was summoned before the Committee in 2018 and showed up for questioning.

“And so, the AFC is making the statement that we cannot derogate or deny the power of the sectorial to summon. It is important that we understand that everybody must be accountable, everybody, must be scrutinized who have Natural Resources as the basis of their agreement with government, be it companies or persons,” Ramjattan said.

Mr. Ramjattan said his party does not trust the government’s account about the country’s oil reserve, explaining that it might be one of the reasons it is not inclined to have the company before the Committee because it may very well prove that the Government has been providing wrong information to the Guyanese people.

“The government of Guyana always talk about accountability and transparency and scrutiny, how can they now avoid it and invade it by citing a precedence of 10 years ago,” Mr. Ramjattan noted.

The Opposition MP said there are many issues related to the oil and gas sector that needs to be examined, but the major company operating in the sector, ought to face the Parliamentary Committee.

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