ENERGY expert Anthony Paul has called out Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley for publicly disclosing sensitive information from a contract that was not awarded as a means of dismissing valid concerns over the US$90 million Paria-Petrojam deal, further intensifying the ongoing war of words across multiple sectors on the issue.
In a statement issued yesterday, Paul rejected Rowley’s claim that his criticism of the deal was driven by a “personal grouse,” emphasising that they were part of his ongoing decades-long advocacy for good governance.
DECADES OF ADVOCACY: Anthony Paul
Highlighting that money was not his motivation, Paul stated that he served on the Cabinet-appointed Permanent Local Content Committee from 2004 to 2020, often without compensation.
Paul’s comments came in response to statements made by Rowley on Friday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open City Heights Apartments in San Fernando.
“Let me tell you something, if we had paid Mr Paul the $2.5 million he had requested for a little job that we had asked him to do way up in the early part of the last administration which I led, he might not have been on television now talking foolishness and trying to cast aspersions on the people who are doing decent, effective work on behalf of the people of Trinidad and Tobago. And I take a serious umbrage at people like that, with their personal grouse, going on television and misrepresenting the facts of the governance of this country because you wouldn’t know when he’s talking there, that he was in fact very early in our tenure in the last government, one of the geologists who could have done something for this country but his price was too high,” Rowley said.
The irony of it
Paul yesterday took Rowley to task for the comments.
“For the record, the proposal in question was developed by a team of consultants in 2015 in response to our understanding of the conditions of the oil and gas industry, and specifically the capability challenges facing the Ministry of Energy, as policy maker and regulator. The firm saw the need for succession planning, as T&T’s sector leaders were all retired or approaching that stage. Our proposal was to support the ministry in its day-to-day work, while coaching and mentoring staff, using methods that would facilitate knowledge transfer to aid the development of the next generation of leaders. It was intended to be a multi-year one, involving multiple consultants, who would have brought their specific expertise to bear and be compensated for their services,” Paul stated.
He said the firm was informed by the then-minister of energy that, while the Cabinet had approved the recommended programme, it had decided to award the contract for its delivery to a foreign firm instead.
Paul said that, as far as he understands, the programme continues to this day.
“It is difficult to escape the irony of the public disclosure of a private firm’s financial bid by the head of a government that repeatedly refuses to disclose public fees actually paid by the Government to certain categories of private consultants, notably lawyers, on the grounds of security risks. Yet as a private individual, I am placed at risk by the implications conveyed by non-existent revenue earnings,” Paul stated.
“As for my motivation in analysing and critiquing government policy and actions, I will simply state my record of public engagement,” he stated.
Paul said that, over the past 20 years, he has made both private and public contributions to the discussion on the state of the oil and gas sector, identifying ways to enhance the public’s benefit from the country’s natural resources.
“I have focused on the state of governance in the sector and on ways to ensure that the transparency and accountability measures already existing in our laws and regulations are implemented. Many of my comments have been carried in the media, going as far back as 2004. Apart from my consultancy work, my public contribution is unpaid work, delivered with the sole intent of placing my expertise at the service of the public interest. This is how I contribute to the development of my country and others in need,” Paul said.
Paul said successive governments have also drawn on his 40-plus years of experience in various roles and countries, including calling on him to serve as both deputy chairman and chairman of the Cabinet-appointed Permanent Local Content Committee from 2004 to 2020, “frequently without compensation.”
“As chairman of the Lloyd Best Institute of the Caribbean, and as member of the board of the Natural Resources Governance Institute, an international NGO whose mission is to assist countries rich in minerals, oil and gas to improve the benefits to their populations, I continue to advocate for good governance here at home and around the world and have every intention of continuing this work,” Paul stated.
