Christopher Ram threatens legal action over no information on oil agreement

Last Updated on Wednesday, 23 April 2025, 20:25 by Writer

Civil society activist Christopher Ram on Wednesday threatened to take legal action because information related to the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement with ExxonMobil has so far not been provided.

His move comes more than two weeks after leading protests against the apparent non-functioning of the Office of Commissioner of Information (COI).

Mr Ram, who is also a chartered accountant and attorney-at-law, said he issued a pre-action notice to the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat and the Commissioner of Information, Retired Justice of Appeal, Charles Ramson regarding their alleged failure to comply with requests made under the Access to Information Act 2011.

Mr Ram said his requests, originally submitted in December 2021, sought access to critical documents related to the signing of the 2016 Petroleum Agreement signed by the Coalition Government, including The January 2020 report prepared by Clyde & Co regarding the 2016 Petroleum Agreement, the Escrow Letter referenced in the Bridging Deed dated June 29, 2016, and information on payments made from public funds to Clyde & Co, and details of public expenditures relating to Escrow Arrangements under the Bridging Deed.

“Despite the passage of more than three years”, Mr Ram said Mr Bharrat and Mr Ramson “have failed to provide any response to these requests.

“The information requested relates to the expenditure of public funds and is of continuing national concern. Continued failure to comply is not only a statutory breach but also an affront to the transparency obligations this Act was enacted to uphold,” Ram stated in his pre-action letter.

The pre-action notice gives the officials 14 days to provide a substantive response and written explanation for the delay before legal proceedings commence. The planned court action will seek declarations of statutory breach, mandatory orders for disclosure, and potentially personal costs against the officials for deliberate evasion of their statutory obligations.

Mr. Ram emphasized that these documents are crucial for public understanding of agreements made by the former government related to Guyana’s oil resources, which represent significant national assets and involve substantial public funds.

The Access to Information Act was enacted to promote transparency, accountability and public participation in national decision-making by granting the public a general right to access information held by public authorities.

Mr Ram recently spearheaded weekly protests outside the Commissioner of Information’s office on East Street, Georgetown over his alleged failure to reply or properly respond to requests for information.