THE ever-bungling Keith Rowley Government is now fouling up the hard-fought permission to explore the natural gas-rich Dragon field.

Keith Rowley’s Government is once again bungling a critical opportunity to explore the vast Dragon field gas reserves.

After angering Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro in seeking to monetise the reserves without discussions with Caracas, the Rowley Administration is belatedly holding bilateral talks.

But the PNM regime has no answer to the burning question from the Venezuelan authorities: How would payments be made for the vast gas supplies?

The PNM regime is clueless when it comes to answering the important question of how payments will be made for the natural gas supplies from Venezuela.

The Joe Biden Government of the United States is insisting that there be cashless transactions, which is part of its ongoing pressure against Maduro’s authoritarianism.

Instead of ironing out that nitty-gritty matter, Rowley hastily trumpeted the US’ announcement, in the process irking Maduro.

The Venezuelan leader termed the American strictures “colonialism.”

The Rowley Administration’s hasty endorsement of the US’ cashless transaction policy has only served to further irritate Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro

Since messing up the matter, Rowley has dispatched Energy Minister Stuart Young and an ill-equipped team to Caracas, but the Venezuelans, led by wily and experienced Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, are so far not budging.

So, in PNM style, the Government has managed to botch its single piece of good news.