Guyana’s Contract with ExxonMobil Leaves Country Exposed to Risks

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Gang Violence in Port-au-Prince Threatens More Than a Million Food-insecure Haitians

In addition to being hit hard by the global food and fuel crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in recent decades, Haitians have been subjected to devastating earthquakes, tropical storms, landslides and flooding, in addition to chronic lawlessness and impunity. “The situation is spiralling out of control already,” said Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP Haiti Country Director. “Large parts of Port-au-Prince are controlled by gangs; the data we have, show that the situation over the past 90 days has gotten worse…based on what is a very vulnerable place, we already had one million people in this city who were acutely food insecure.” Speaking via Zoom from Port-au-Prince, Mr. Bauer explained that between 150 and 200 gangs operate there, and that things were getting “worse by the day” for Haitians.

No-go zone “Since Friday there’s been fighting downtown in the port area, in Cité Soleil, and yesterday in La Saline, places that are very close to the port and also close to where hundreds of thousands of very poor people live.” These included a heavily pregnant woman who had to shelter on the floor of her home for an entire day, for fear of being caught in the crossfire during a prolonged gunfight, the WFP official explained. The next day, just as she was able to leave her house, someone set fire to it. She later gave birth and now lives in a centre for displaced people.

Recruited to fight According to two local youth-focused organizations, 13 per cent of the children surveyed in one troubled neighbourhood in Port-au-Prince, had been in contact with members of armed gangs who tried to recruit them. “The context is gang violence, people are not able to work, people are not able to sell their produce and at the same time food prices are increasing,” Mr. Bauer said. “And, Haiti is an import-dependent country so really at the forefront of what’s going on” – a reference to the fact that the Caribbean island imports 70 per cent of its food needs, and as elsewhere, has suffered from the Ukraine-driven global food and fuel crisis. “Inflation here has been running at 26 per cent,” the WFP official said. “Food inflation has been 52 per cent, this is according to the Haitian Government and the analysis of the food basket they do here.”

Aid solutions To continue to ensure that the vulnerable Haitians receive assistance outside the capital, WFP has resorted to using sea routes, rather than target-prone trucks. “WFP set up a maritime service to bypass the gangs that are around Port-auPrince, so what we do is we send the trucks to the port, they board a WFPchartered ferry and that vessel goes either to the south or to the north, to ensure that humanitarian aid continues reaching all Haitians, no matter where they are.” According to WFP, 4.4 million Haitians need immediate food assistance, representing almost half the population. The UN agency has appealed for $39 million to fund its assistance over the next six months. l

—UN News Guyana’s Contract with ExxonMobil Leaves Country Exposed to Financial and Environmental Risks

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Trinidad & Tobago 125 Maiden Lane, 4th Floor New York, N.Y. 10038 Tel: 212-682-7272 Earlier this year, in its April 2022 World Economic Outlook, the IMF projected a nearly 50 per cent rate of economic growth for Guyana this year. Beyond 2022, the IMF said Guyana is expected to record a 34.5 per cent increase in 2023 and a 3.7 per cent increase by 2027. “Guyana’s medium-term prospects are more favorable than ever before, with increasing oil production having the potential to transform Guyana’s economy.” Between now and 2026, oil production offshore Guyana is expected to increase significantly. In the Stabroek Block alone, where a local affiliate for ExxonMobil has already commenced production, the oil reserves are estimated at over 11 billion barrels. The IMF said that this amount of oil reserves is the third largest in Latin America and the Caribbean, and among the highest in the world relative to the country’s population size. Higher oil prices and more discoveries of oil and gas could significantly improve Guyana’s long-term prospects, too. Despite the foregoing however, the World Bank is not happy with Guyana over its offshore oil production arrangement with ExxonMobil and wants the Guyana Government to revisit its oil production arrangement with ExxonMobil and has criticized the government for its performance in overseeing its massive offshore oil production project. The result of this is that the World Bank has downgraded its rating of Guyana's oversight of the project. Despite this however, Guyana's “Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo does not want any interference from any quarter, and has made it clear that he does not welcome any outside reviews of the oil deal, including the reports issued by the internationally recognized Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, IEEFA. The World Bank review, however, makes it equally clear that the government of Guyana does not have the right protections in place. In their haste to move forward with drilling, the government and the oil companies have left the country and its people exposed to a series of pollution and financial risks, says the IEEFA. Only recently, Guyanese citizens filed the first constitutional climate case in the Caribbean to challenge fossil fuel production on the grounds that it exacerbates global warming and threatens human rights. The case, before Guyana’s Constitutional Court, claims that Guyana’s approval of a massive, ExxonMobil-led oil and gas buildout off the country’s coast violates the government’s legal duty to protect the rights to a healthy environment, sustainable development, and the rights of future generations. The case reflects a growing concern within Guyana regarding the risks oil extraction poses on a national, regional, and international level. Guyana is ExxonMobil’s largest oil development outside of the Permian Basin. The company is pushing to extract over 9 billion barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of gas from ultradeep wells off Guyana’s coast. Melinda Janki, who leads the legal team for the applicants, emphasizes the project’s global significance: “Guyana’s petroleum production is a potential 3.87 gigaton carbon bomb, putting Guyana at the forefront of the fight to save the planet from oil and gas.”l

Guyana’s VP Dr.Bharrat Jagdeo