Dear Editor,
Mercy Investment Services, Inc is a ministry of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, whose mission is to “recognize the moral imperative of work for a just and sustainable world”. It is surprising therefore to learn that Mercy is an ExxonMobil shareholder and has tendered an appeal to shareholders to vote for Ballot Item No 10 seeking a report on the costs and impact of a worst-case oil spill from Exxon’s operations in Guyana’s Atlantic waters. This is the new tactic called ‘Impact Investing’ and ‘Shareholder advocacy.’ To quote from its website, “Mercy Investment Services actively uses its voice to encourage the companies in which it invests to make changes that benefit people, communities, and our common home.” It would seem Guyanese do not count as worthy beneficiaries of our fossil fuel resource.
The Mercy website features a de rigueur photo of an impoverished African village, no doubt this is how the ‘sisters’ see us, the third world, in need of aid from the former colonial master class; it is a misguided and outdated view that unfortunately is being encouraged by a few within our midst. Guyana’s status as a world environmental leader has been subverted by persons who have nothing to offer its citizens but a return to caves and mud huts in furtherance of ‘saving the planet’; as with any push, there is a backlash and Guyanese will be given a choice of where we go, no Court nor group of ‘tree huggers’ will stand in our way.
We can look at Suriname and Staatsolie as an example, where actions by politicians, coupled with an investment-prohibiting outdated Production Sharing Contract (PSC) touted by some Guyanese as ‘exemplary’ and a regulatory entity doubling as an Operator (Staatsolie), has caused timid exploration and development efforts in the Suriname side of the Basin by Total-Apache, who discovered their first Field 3.5 years ago and have yet to issue a Final Investment Decision (FID). In the meanwhile, Total pledged US$27B to Iraq, US$30B to Mozambique, is actively developing South Africa offshore, eyeing Namibia, and shunning Suriname. Compare this to the accelerated development of ExxonMobil in Guyana, it took less than 3.5 years from the 2016 PSC to First Oil in December 2019.
Editor, inaction to protect rapid development in the oil industry and investment in key infrastructure can be the tipping point between a successful Qatar-like development, or going the route of our neighbours and other OPEC nations that have suffered from the Dutch Disease, due to politicians focused on self-interest, not in the Nation’s development.
The PPP and the PNC, the two big political parties in Guyana have so far been timid in response to the plethora of legal efforts to stymie or halt the growth of the oil industry in Guyana. There have also been no moves in the legislature to discuss these challenges in a non-partisan manner and find solutions that encompass making changes as required to safeguard our patrimony.
The development of Guyana mandates decisive action, should the dithering continue, it will fall to others to take the lead and push the fastest-growing economy in the world beyond the reach of those who continue to undermine it. I can assure the politicians, pseudo-environmentalists, and new colonialists that Guyanese intend to benefit from our oil resources and will not be held hostage and what needs to be done will be done by citizens with unlimited common sense, and soon. We quite simply have to put Guyana’s development first!
Sincerely,
Robin Singh
