Last Updated on Thursday, 19 October 2023, 12:31 by Denis Chabrol
by GHK Lall
To ringfence or not to ringfence, is now more than the question. It has risen to the incendiary issue of the hour. Two men of majestic proportions, Dr. Bharat Jagdeo and Alistair Routledge, have announced and pronounced on ringfencing pros and cons, and in the end, it is not what Jagdeo could do for Guyana, but what must be done because it is best for Exxon.
The more that is heard of the chutney and Country and Western lyrics coming out of Guyana’s Oil Commissar Jagdeo and Exxon’s Guyana President Routledge, the more one has to take in the notes that these two leading men deliver, what those notes say about them. Certainly, these two fine gentlemen, men of an incredibly immaculate ethos, perform in sweet harmony. I rename them the Righteous Brothers redux, i.e., the fusion of Blue-eyed and Brown-eyed soul on the issue of ringfencing which leaves trusting Guyanese with a blackeye.
On the testing, troublesome, and torturous matter of ringfencing upcoming oil projects in Guyana, the sounds coming out of the Jagdeo-Routledge Combo have a big band volume to them. To call these two wise swinging men a combo cheapens their well-versed and well-timed works: it is more accurate to name what they do as The Bharat Jagdeo-Alistair Routledge Orchestra. There they are -virtual identical twins (paternity held in suspension for the time being), a two-man band, with both so fully in sync with each other’s steps and moves, they can each read the other’s mind, without a word being said. Man, that is more than harmony; it is a ringfencing symphony that Guyanese are getting from Barry Jagdeo and Allie Routledge.
The essences crystallize to this: Exxon is for Guyana, looking out for Guyana (maximizing revenue) , all for Guyana, with helpful, unselfish guidance, where ringfencing is concerned. This is ruthless capitalism turned on its head, showing its smiling, sanctimonious face dripping with bonhomie. No ringfencing is good for Guyana, the best. Thanks for caring, Colonel Routledge. I know that Mr. Routledge is hearing me, and not mistaking where I am going in the least.
At this point, it is well to repeat Dr. Routledge’s ringfencing prescription for Guyanese: cash flow timing is everything, and this is paramount for investors, something to which they are very sensitive. Thanks, Admiral, for telling Guyanese what they already know. It is why they want ringfencing and their oil money (revenue/income) maximized now, as in today, and not tomorrow.
As if one cue, and without a pause, there came Guyana’s oil champion, Dr. Jagdeo: money in the future is better, will be more, and to be savored even more. What the no ringfencing finance ringmaster Dr. Jagdeo did was kick away all his economics education and dump present value into the rubbish heap. A dollar today, or a billion, is not worth as much today. The song is now “forego” today for ‘massive income later’ and it has a haunting, revealing strain to it. It is Guyana’s Jagdeo perfectly echoing, Exxon’s Routledge words. Timing, remember that one? Timing is everything, this is what is being flushed on the heads of Guyanese, with Mr. Routledge touting “cash flow timing” and Dr. Jagdeo hustling with foregoing. It is two men singing in one voice for one objective: no ringfencing.
In this flawless alignment Routledge is inseparable from Jagdeo, and Jagdeo is for nothing and no one but Routledge. Thinking of this, and I remember Lethal Weapon parts I, 2, 3, 4; then, I cringe at whatever sequels sit on the shelf, are being timed for the enhancing of Guyanese quality of life. I tell everyone: these two shiny headed cherubs are the best, a tangoing duet that could untangle mating vipers, even the Gordian Knot, if they were so challenged. Look how they are finely blended than the best Demerara Rum.
One says new oil project and no ringfencing, and the other says how quickly, boss. Or, the American One says I was thinking about so and so, and the local one says, ‘don’t worry, it’s all in the bag, a done deal.’ Now, that is impeccable teamwork at its best. The Yank has one inviolable standard: if there is anything that has to do with money come back another day. In fact, don’t come back at all. In less than a second, peace and tranquility is restored in the valley of Exxon. The Jagdeo-Routledge tabernacle choir settles back in its regular smooth rhythms.
This is how Bharrat Jagdeo represents the interests of Guyana: in a scheming, collaborating, most helpful manner. My fellow Guyanese should absorb the contrast, viz., how the man from the Alamo, Alistair Routledge, represents Exxon. Sure, his is not one of those US Cavalry names of Howard Hawks lore, such as John Wayne or James Stewart, but Routledge will do.
For the enlightenment of the local political cognoscenti and riffraff, there was a Howard Hawks production called Sergeant Rutledge, but he simply wouldn’t do. Not just the wrong spelling, but of utmost importance, the wrong color, and mentality to match. Guyanese thought they were getting Billy Graham, only for them to end up with a corporate Hannibal Lector.
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