The two Guyanese women who wrote to the US Exim Bank, asking that the financial institution withhold approval for a US$660 million loan for the gas-to-energy project is “hopelessly misguided.” So says Vice President and chief policymaker for Guyana’s oil sector, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo.
The official made the foregoing comment in response to questions at a press briefing on Thursday at Office of the President. There, he was asked for his take on a recent letter to the bank and its possible effect on government’s application for the loan.
Readers would recall that the said letter was dispatched to the bank by Attorney-at-Law, Melinda Janki on behalf of public interest litigants Elizabeth Deane-Hughes and Vanda Radzik. Janki wrote a letter to the financial institution, urging it to “respect the rule of law in Guyana” and withhold funding for the project to be executed at Wales, West Bank Demerara.
In the letter dated January 12, 2024, Janki said the decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to grant Exxon’s local affiliate, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) a permit for the project was contrary to law. As such, she said the Exim bank should not provide funding for such a project.
As he registered his disappointment with such a letter, Jagdeo also highlighted the group’s lack of contribution to the country and accused them of leading comfortable lives while opposing a project with significant benefits. “Their bread is well buttered. Every one of them. They live great lives—all of them and they don’t care that this project will deliver cheaper electricity to our business community… They don’t care that we will save 100 million US dollars per year in by doing this project,” Jagdeo explained.
The Vice President also criticized the group’s focus on climate change concerns, pointing out the growing global production and export of gas, especially by bigger countries like the US and Qatar. He suggested that the opposition might be influenced by external financial interests aiming to hinder the development of the developing world.
In response to potential impacts of this opposition to the loan from the US Exim Bank, Jagdeo expressed confidence, stating that the bank is well aware of the situation and has the expertise to distinguish genuine concerns from propagandistic efforts. He dismissed the opposition as repetitive, noting that the same names appear across various issues without significant impact on policymaking.
