( Kaieteur News ) – Businessman Glenn Lall has launched another scathing attack on the management of Guyana's natural resources, arguing that foreign companies have earned billions of US dollars from the country's oil and gold assets while Guyana has received "absolutely nothing" from the lucrative corporate transactions.
In his latest social media commentary, Lall questioned whether Guyanese are truly benefiting from the country's vast natural wealth, despite Guyana now ranking among the world's fastest-growing oil producers and possessing significant gold reserves.
He said that based on public disclosures made to shareholders, 12 companies have collectively reported discoveries totalling approximately 16 million ounces of gold in Guyana.
Businessman, Glenn Lall
"Sometimes I ask myself whether I am still living in the oil- and mineral-rich Guyana that I have loved all my life," Lall said, lamenting what he described as a nation blessed with abundant resources but still plagued by debt and economic hardship.
Referring to a recent Kaieteur News report on a multibillion-dollar gold transaction, Lall said a Canadian company received approximately US 2.2 billion changed hands," he said. "And what did Guyana receive? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not one cent."
Lall argued that while foreign corporations continue to realise enormous profits from Guyana's mineral wealth, many Guyanese families remain burdened by rising living costs and financial hardship.
"Here is a country where families are still struggling to put food on the table and parents worry about paying the next bill, yet our mineral wealth is being handed to foreign companies that go on to make billions," he said.
The businessman contended that the Canadian gold transaction was not an isolated case but part of what he described as a long-standing pattern under successive administrations.
According to Lall, ownership of Guyana's oil and mineral assets has repeatedly changed hands in deals worth billions of US dollars, with citizens learning about many of the transactions only after they are disclosed to foreign shareholders.
He accused both the People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and the former APNU+AFC Coalition of failing to keep the public fully informed about the transfer of the country's strategic natural resources.
Lall also turned his attention to Guyana's gold sector, claiming that numerous Canadian companies now control some of the country's most prospective gold concessions.
He said that based on public disclosures made to shareholders, 12 companies have collectively reported discoveries totalling approximately 16 million ounces of gold in Guyana.
Using a gold price of about US 64 billion in potential value.
"The question every Guyanese should be asking is, what does all of that mean for Guyana?" he said.
Lall reserved some of his strongest criticism for the Stabroek Block, arguing that billions of US dollars changed hands when ExxonMobil sold interests in the offshore licence to partners before commercial production began.
He also referenced Hess Corporation's sale of its Guyana assets to Chevron, saying another multibillion-dollar transaction had taken place because of resources located in Guyana.
"What did Guyana receive from those corporate transactions?" Lall asked. "Nothing."
He made similar claims regarding the Kaieteur and Canje offshore oil blocks, contending that companies were able to acquire and later dispose of interests for substantial sums while Guyana did not share in the proceeds from those corporate sales.
Concluding his commentary, Lall urged Guyanese to reflect on whether the country's natural wealth is being managed in a manner that safeguards the interests of future generations.
"Are you satisfied with the way your country's wealth is being managed?" he asked. "Are you convinced your children's future is being protected, or has Guyana become a country where the resources belong to the people, but the riches belong to everyone else?"
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Rising Debt, Rising US Dollar Rate in Oil-rich Guyana!
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