ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR OIL FIND, GRENADA — PLEASE!!!!!
Written by Tessa Barry on April 8, 2018
A moment please
In 2006 Uganda (An African nation) discovered oil. President Yoweri Museveni (while his government may be aligned with alleged corruption), did a few things that would ensure that some of the wealth expected to be generated from this find remains in Uganda.
1. Government set up a petroleum company to regulate the oil industry, the Ugandan Petroleum Authority (Note the operative word Ugandan, suggestive that authority belongs to the government and people of Uganda.
2. A deal was signed that 48% of the services utilized by the oil companies granted licenses for exploration will be Ugandan based.
3. Several Ugandan’s were granted scholarships to take on studies in the energy sector that would see the development of local skills in that specific area.
4. Establishment of a petroleum fund with the help of Norway, to have accountability and transparency of funds generated from this find.
5. 60-70 percent of the jobs generated from the industry must be Ugandan
6. Tenders were submitted allowing more than one country to offer bids
These are just a few of the things set up by Museveni and his government.
Now my moment please. If Uganda, a country that is alleged by many to be “endemic to corruption” has thought it wise to put things in place to secure the rights of the people of Uganda, then I can’t help but put forward these questions for my “Spice Isle.”
1. Will the government of Grenada set up a petroleum regulatory company with the operative word being Grenada, suggestive that the authority belongs to the government and people of Grenada? (Recall a Russian company is already involved).
2. What percentage of services have been agreed upon to be utilized by Grenadians and Grenadian companies?
3. Has our government considered offering scholarships in the energy sector so we can develop the local skills and capacity by the time we start seeing results from this find?
4. Have there been tenders publicly announced for bidding for exploration of our oil?
5. How many companies are involved and who are they?
6. Why is news surrounding Grenada’s oil emanating first from Trinidad and not Grenada?
7. Are the operations surrounding oil find a secret?
I urge my fellow Grenadians to follow these developments closely as we are operating in an environment without an opposition, a choice we made on March 13th.
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evon On April 8, 2018 at 2:26 pm
Well well someone is thinking.