Chris Ram
Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded -Column 154 Introduction By its very name, the Ministry of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs should defend and advance democracy, promote and ensure transparency, and strengthen and enforce accountability. Regrettably, the Ministry, in pursuit of the party’s agenda, is increasingly a convenient vehicle for political deflection…
Introduction Guyana’s Constitution identifies access to information as a right – not a privilege. Yet, for a decade and more since the Access to Information Act was passed in 2011, this right has been treated with contempt. The Office of the Commissioner of Information’s ongoing obstructionism reflects more than a question of competence – it…
The Bahamas gets 15% tax on Guyana oil revenue and Guyana (like Piggy) gets none “The OECD/G20’s Pillar Two framework mandates that all in-scope MNEs (multi-national enterprises) pay a minimum effective tax rate of 15% on profits in each jurisdiction. The Bahamas must act decisively to ensure that these taxes are collected here, rather than…
The recent news of a prominent political personality seeking refuge in the embrace of his former adversary has not just left many shaking their heads in disbelief, but has also sparked profound questions about motives and morality, decency and dignity, principles and pragmatism. The public’s shock at this turn of events is palpable, and rightly…
Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Column 152 The exchange over Guyana’s Natural Resource Fund (NRF) involving Dr. Terrence Campbell, VP Bharrat Jagdeo and Dr. Ashni Singh has revealed troubling misunderstandings of our fiscal legal framework, not least from those who ought to know better. What began as a straightforward…
Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Column 151 – January 4, 2025 As the first column for the new year, we wish all Guyanese and especially readers of this column a successful, healthy and productive 2025. Introduction “No Guyanese could agree with this.” These were the unequivocal words of then-presidential…
“African states must unite (for the continent) or sell themselves out to imperialist and colonialist exploiters for a mess of pottage…”: Kwame Nkrumah. Or as our own Cheddi Jagan told the National Assembly in 1983 in a speech following the invasion of Grenada: “Right now Washington is …hoping to get these puppets one by one…
Introduction Having established in the previous parts the considerable assistance that Guyana can draw from the Churchill Falls case in pursuing renegotiation of the 2016 Agreement, this part examines the specific mechanisms available under the 2016 Agreement that allow Guyana to achieve that end. Additionally, I argue that ExxonMobil’s recent categorical refusal to consider any…
Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Column 148 – December 24, 2024 Introduction The two previous parts set out the parallels between the Canadian Churchill Falls case and Guyana’s 2016 PSA. Both deal with agreements governing natural resources and involve the legal principle of sanctity of contract, which is common…
Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Column 147 Last week’s part 1 of this mini-series dealt mainly with the court case and subsequent renegotiation of the Churchill Falls Hydro project in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. In that case, the Canadian Supreme Court rejected an application for an…
