With over eight billion barrels in oil equivalent resources waiting to be extracted from the Stabroek Block, Guyana remains high on the world’s top 10 exploration and investment hot spots. But it could all count for nothing if the money earned on those resources is not effectively managed says Risk Advisory, an internationally renowned organization that provides intelligence assessments, investigations, and security services to industry shakers.
In its latest report, the agency alluded that Guyana is at risk of mismanaging its resources especially when the track record of the major political parties is taken into consideration. Risk Advisory noted that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and the APNU+AFC have track records that have been blemished by the types of corruption controversies that do little to instill hope that the country’s resources would be diligently managed. And while the PPP and the APNU+AFC faction each claim that their counterpart will use the oil revenue for corrupt means, Risk Advisory said that neither has articulated a path forward on how they plan to turn the oil wealth into tangible national development.
On this note, the international advisory group said that the outcome of the election and the subsequent actions that the Guyanese government takes to make use of its hydrocarbon resources will have a significant impact on the short-medium term outlook for the country. It was keen to warn that mismanagement could very well see Guyana joining an infamous list of nations that have succumbed to the resource curse.
