— says Global Witness Senior Campaigner – Jonathan Gant
Global Witness, an international organization that has fought against natural resource exploitation, poverty, and corruption since 1993, recently published a report called “Signed Away” which has added more firewood to the heated debate on whether Guyana got a good deal with ExxonMobil for the oil-rich Stabroek Block.
In summary, Global Witness says its fiscal analysis shows that Guyana left US$55B on the table due to poor negotiations on the part of Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman. The non-governmental organization also believes that ExxonMobil had a role to play as it employed some strong-arm tactics.
Since being released for public consumption, the report has attracted concerns from many about the veracity of the inherent accusations and their real intentions, as well as scathing criticisms from the government. Continue reading