My calculated opinion is that President Fradique de Menezes has run out of wiggle room and that the tide is in....
At this point I wish I was a lawyer because I would love to bring a lawsuit against Freddie and his boys if they hold this up any longer. I hope Offor, Nigeria, the winning bidders, JDA, and JMC bring a lawsuit against him for compensatory damages in lieu of his not honoring a legal and binding agreement overseen by independent third parties and endorsed by the World Bank.
I believe that the citizens of Sao Tome, who legally elected Miguel Trovoada, the former President who crafted this deal in the early ninteen-ninties, could bring suit in regards to social deprivation. Money that could have been in their pockets has been held up in a frivilous attempt (last few years) to scuttle the process. Joe Kennedy and his fat cat Washington lawyers couldn't find a hole in the agreement. Nobody has, nobody will; it was done "within the law" and in "good faith" within the context of existing political and economic conditions.
When oil was at $28.00 and plentiful the agreement wasn't such a big deal. Now that the scarcity is there and the commodity is at $55.00 maybe going higher; it IS a big deal. Quite frankly Freddie, that is why a contract is a contract. People like you who don't understand why a deal was done or do not like why a deal was done 10 years earlier cannot botch up the agreed process.
Freddie you are costing us all money, you have run out of options unless you want to commit political suicide (world stage). Oil would be flowing by now had you not taken a hard line approach in not honoring an agreement negotiated in good faith and signed by your predecessor, a previously elected President.
While you have put up a valent fight and have martyred the cause for your country, it is time to move the process forward for the benefit of yourself, your countrymen and future generations of Sao Tomeans. Sign the papers, take the award money, enjoy the future royalties. Develop your other blocks and continue to build wealth for your country. Improve the education, healthcare and economic futures of your people. Invite the Americans to build a deep water port and base on your island; for short term security and for future economic vitality.
In essence President Fradique de Menezes, show some leadership and leave a legacy, your country needs you........
