Give Peace a Chance - How the Oil Industry can unlock a better future for Colombia

Give Peace a Chance – How Natural Resource companies can help change the world for the better.

How safe is Colombia today, really? This is the question that I regularly receive from friends and family, and from business colleagues and investors when I tell them I have chosen to live in Bogota, Colombia with my family. On the surface, the Colombia of today is far different that the Colombia I first came to know in 1997. In 1997 I couldn’t safely walk on the streets of Bogota as an obvious foreigner. Today, the country is growing, and the teenagers and young adults that have grown up in the last 10-15 years know only a country where security is improved drastically, and as most of the challenges are in remote outlying regions really aren’t a part of their everyday life. There is hope in the country. Hope for a future. In 1997, many people I met in Colombia asked me how they could move to the United States or Canada. Today, people talk about building businesses, or purchasing a new home for the future. The change is dramatic, and a wonderful thing to be a part of.

Colombia has been living with an armed conflict since the 1960’s. Now nearing three quarters of a century, it is the longest standing armed conflict in modern history. The previous government of President Alvaro Uribe managed to achieve a fundamental shift in the dynamics of the country, with the combination of strong security policy and economic growth stifling the operational capacity of the guerilla groups and eliminating largely their ability to inflict major damage. The current government, led my President Juan Manuel Santos, is now seeking to finalize a peace accord with the FARC rebels, demobilizing an armed force that has been in existence for seven decades, and once numbered in the tens of thousands of armed combatants. Some estimates put the peak of the FARC capabilities at including over 100,000 Colombians, in combat and secondary support roles. Achieving a peace accord would be a historic achievement, albeit one fraught with challenges for the future.

After over five years of negotiation between the FARC rebels and the government, it appears likely that a peace accord of some sort will be reached. Thoughts are now turning to the post peace era. Some of the upper and middle classes in the cities fear the inclusion of ex guerilla leaders in the political process. Others see this is a chance for finally achieving real change. I see this is a unique opportunity for Colombia to not just take a step forward, but take a giant leap and move into a leadership position in the region, if the government and the people work together to build a post conflict plan that is inclusive and will drive economic growth, especially in the areas that have been the most effected.

The guerilla forces have always held more sway in remote outlying areas of the country. Today, there is precious little development in many of these areas, and the main source of active interest in development has come from natural resource companies. In recent years, complex environmental legislation, coupled with increased community and social activism has slowed or eliminated much of this interest. The government has had limited success in properly resolving these issues. The government of Colombia could do much more to recognize that stimulating development in these remote areas is the best way to offer armed combatants and their supporters a new way of life, one of creating value through developing natural resources, instead of having no choice to feed their families but to pick up a gun and fight.

The oil and mining sectors have longed looked to military veterans and a good potential source of labour. Veterans are generally hardworking, disciplined and willing to work in difficult living conditions. Many in the industry will welcome demobilized government armed forces personal into their companies. Accepting ex-FARC combatants with the same open arms can also be a key tenet of the demobilization, as long as the government is proactive in its support of these plans and provides guarantees and actively supports these plans. Giving people the option to work for an honest wage, and most will take it, and their families will thank you for it.

There is a version of the future of Colombia where peace becomes the norm. Where new generations of Colombians are born into a country where the problems of the last seventy years are taught in history class. The natural resource companies are the best bet in the short term to assist the government of Colombia in making this happen. The government should not waste this opportunity and should be working far more with the private sector on how to make this version of the future a reality.

Wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing if natural resource company’s oil and gas and mining companies can turn a dream of a peaceful Colombia into reality.

Warren Levy May 26, 2016