Newsroom article reckless; Ministry of Natural Resources calls for retraction

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, March 29, 2018 – The Ministry of Natural Resources calls on the publisher and editor(s) of the online publication, Newsroom, to retract and correct their misleading article captioned, “Trotman, Harmon differ on spending of signing bonus.”

Contrary to what is insinuated in the article, Minister of Natural Resources, Hon. Raphael Trotman at no time indicated to Newsroom or any other media, a position that differs to the one outlined by Minister of State. Hon. Joseph Harmon.

Yesterday, speaking with the media, Minister Trotman explained that once the juridical settlement to the Guyana-Venezuela controversy had qualified for the International Court of Justice, it would have triggered a process. That process saw the Minister of Finance, Hon. Winston Jordan asking Cabinet by way of a Memorandum, to release the ExxonMobil Signing Bonus into the Consolidated Fund to make payments to the legal team representing Guyana.

For Newsroom to insinuate that there is a controversy regarding the spending of the Signing Bonus is mischievous and reckless given the purpose for which the funds are intended.

We call on all Guyanese to be vigilant at this critical juncture in our history and development as we seek a final and lasting resolution to a controversy that has dogged Guyana since its independence and further, to patriotically support the Government of Guyana’s initiatives accordingly.