HGP Nightly News – Former EPA Head Dr. Vincent Adams estimates that with oil prices elevated because of the current Middle East crisis, Guyana could be receiving roughly an extra GY$1 billion per day, and he argues that this money, or part of it, should be redirected to help ease the burden now falling on ordinary citizens. In his view, the crisis is not only pushing up fuel, transport and food costs, but is also generating additional earnings for both Guyana and ExxonMobil, creating what he sees as an opportunity for the Government to cushion the blow on the population.
Adams said that if the State is benefiting from the rise in global oil prices, then citizens should not be left to face the full impact of higher costs on their own. He argued that a portion of the additional revenue could be used to soften the effects of rising bus fares, increased travel expenses, higher food prices and other cost-of-living pressures that are likely to spread through the economy as the crisis continues. His position is that the Government should be using the financial upside of the crisis to provide some direct relief to the people who are being squeezed by it.
According to Adams, the issue goes beyond the immediate shortage concerns and points to a wider failure of planning. He argued that the Government should have had contingency measures in place long before the effects of the conflict began to show up locally. In his view, any country operating in an energy-sensitive environment should always be prepared for the possibility that a disruption in the Middle East will affect global oil prices, fuel availability, shipping costs and inflation.
He said the current moment exposes the absence of both short-term and long-term strategic planning. Rather than simply describing the global nature of the crisis, Adams argued that the Government should be telling Guyanese exactly what policies are in place to reduce the pressure on households and businesses. He maintained that people already understand the problem. What they are waiting to hear, he said, is what the Government intends to do about it.
Adams also warned that the effects will go beyond fuel prices alone. He said increases in shipping and freight costs will eventually affect the prices of imported goods, food and agricultural inputs such as fertilisers, putting even more pressure on households and productive sectors. In that context, he argued that the country’s oil income should be used more strategically, not only to generate state revenue, but to protect citizens during periods of international volatility.
For Adams, the crisis highlights a deeper contradiction in Guyana’s position as an oil-producing country. Even as the nation earns more from rising oil prices, it remains exposed to the same external shocks that affect fuel-importing economies. His argument is that this should not be the case, and that the current situation should push the Government to think more seriously about energy security, contingency planning and the practical use of oil wealth in times of crisis.
