A GINA feature
Prime Minister, Samuel Hinds has responsibility for several sectors that are central to the nation’s socio-economic well-being and development.
These sectors, which include mining, telecommunications, electricity and energy, all performed commendably over the past year, and although not surpassing projections, the various sectors all turned in  above average performances. Electricity
This sector has always presented a number of challenges; but in 2010, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) recorded some successes due to the investments that Government made towards advancement in this area.
In order to facilitate quicker and easier access to having its customers’ concerns addressed, GPL, in February, launched a community–based Customer Service Representative Programme. This move was commended by the Prime Minister who acknowledged that consumers have issues with the services provided by GPL and would appreciate speedy resolutions.
In its continued drive to enhance its services to the general public, the utility company also installed a 20-megawatt system. A call for a cut in production losses on the part of GPL and for consumers to take up the offer of pre-paid meters was sounded by the Prime Minister in February.
In May, government signed a US$39M loan agreement with China to improve the electricity sector. Hailing the agreement as “a great day for electricity in Guyana”, the Prime Minister described it as a mature step.
He pointed out that although the local electricity system is rudimentary when compared to other countries’, there was consistency in government’s efforts at upgrading the system.
GPL also signed an agreement with the Wartsila Company that will see 15.68 megawatts being added to the existing 20.7 megawatt plant at Kingston.
Chief Executive Office Bharrat Dindyal had stated that the two parties had agreed that the plant will be completed and handed over to GPL at the end of August 2011.
Several communities were electrified under Government’s Unserved Areas Electrification Programme (UAEP). Of this, 35 hinterland areas have been supplied with electricity and solar home systems.  This translates to just over ten thousand new households that are being served in those areas.
Also, government’s expenditure of US$7.1M in the extension of GPL’s grid has seen existing and new housing developments in Linden, Timehri, East Berbice, Bartica, East and West Coast Demerara, West Bank Demerara, Essequibo and Georgetown being served.
This has resulted in about 24,500 additional households in the aforementioned areas being electrified under the UAEP.
The Lethem district saw an upgrade in its power supply for 2010, while Mahdia and Port Kaituma were supplied with two new mini-grid systems. These two new systems are expected to be up and running in early 2011.
Meanwhile, the Electricity Sector Reform (Amendment) Bill 2010, tabled in Parliament in October, will facilitate a better supply of power in the country.
While government has always been reluctant to criminalize citizens over electricity theft, the newly amended legislation is geared towards eliminating the widespread illegality among residential and commercial consumers.
Mining
The realization of the visionary Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) has highlighted the dire need for environmental compliance and mining sustainability in Guyana.
Mining has always posed the greatest challenge to the sustainability of the environment in Guyana. This activity has caused serious environmental degradation, with pollution to rivers as well as mined-out areas not being reclaimed.
The new strategy outlines that miners have to comply with changes concomitant with the demands of climate change. The LCDS, which outlines ways of offering climate protection services for carbon payments, brought prior plans to reform this sector to a head during the course of the year.
This began with the proposal that persons wanting to engage in mining activities are now required to wait a six-month period before commencing operations.  This immediately occasioned protest from the industry, with protest marches in Bartica.
Government’s position is that the proposed six months measure is designed to give both loggers and miners enough time to formulate their plans prior to their executing operations in their respective zones.  Also, within the stipulated period, the forest lease holder can cut down trees for his operations, with the miner executing his/her project thereafter.

The issue was subsequently referred to a Special Land Use Committee chaired by the Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, Robeson Benn, a former GGMC commissioner, along with a raft of regulations to be considered by a representative of the entire industry.
In July, the Prime Minister said that the influx of miners led to concerns over bad mining practices, highlighting the need to move mining to higher standards of operation.
Over the years, there has been close monitoring of Guyana’s mining sector, and government has continually voiced calls for restoration of mined-out areas, to no avail.
The capitalization of small and medium-scale miners means that traditional mining methods are no longer feasible, as government moves towards formalizing the substantive and procedural nature of the mining sector, bringing to a halt the traditional practice of miners exhausting the capacity of a particular location.

In November, the Prime Minister delivered a comprehensive account on the status of the mining industry before the Parliamentary sub-committee on Natural Resources.
The Guyana Gold Board reported that declarations for 2010 amounted to 308,438 ounces, an increase of 3,260 ounces over the 2009 figure, but falling short of its targeted 311,816 ounces, due to both dry and wet spells in 2010.

Energy
Prime Minister Hinds, at the end of the year, noted that there were four companies licensed to undertake exploratory work locally, and that this augurs well for the nation’s energy sector.
The companies are Exxon Mobil, Repsol/YPF, Century Guyana Ltd. and CGX Incorporated.  He also said that there are significant areas in the Atlantic Ocean and Takutu Basin available for investment in oil exploration, and pointed to drilling equipment already in the Rupununi.
During the past year, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission found marsh gas/biogenics during its exploration, with a possibility of more on the Wakenaam and Leguan Islands and in the Pomeroon area.  It is hoped that the procurement of new technologies will aid in finding hydro-carbons in Guyana.
Since Guyana does not have the finances for renewable resources, the preference is in the direction for renewable energy sources. This allows for incentives as an encouragement for the promotion of renewable energy resources for electricity.
Repsol, a Spanish oil exploration company, has joined a growing number of companies that have shown an interest in prospecting for oil in Guyana.
Twenty wells have been dug so far.
As it relates to the Amaila Falls project, it is expected that within the next four years the facility will be generating a capacity of 150 megawatts of hydropower that will satisfy all of Guyana’s electricity requirements.
It is also expected that the hydro-power plant will account for 90% conversion from petroleum-based fuel to hydro power, resulting in less dependence on fossil fuel.

Telecommunications
Government’s decision to offer for sale its 20% share in the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) is due to its efforts to liberalize the telecommunications sector.
Speaking during a parliamentary debate in February, occasioned by a PNCR/1G motion seeking to suspend the sale of the holdings, Prime Minister Hinds said that it is government’s intention to do something that will benefit the nation, and therefore, selling the shares will ensure enough money to finance, for example, the provision of computers for about 80% of the Guyanese household.
Government’s commitment to the development of Information and Communication Technology is a means of maintaining linkages between families at home and abroad, as well as a boost for business and education.
Government will persist with its plan for the implementation of one laptop per family, so that children will have the opportunity to garner computer skills.
The significant investment in the fibre optic cable has been seen as creating a new window for taking Guyana further into the world of technology.
Earlier in the year, the groundwork was laid for the 1,240 kilometre submarine fibre optic cable system projected to connect Guyana to the rest of the world.
Scrap Metal
The scrap metal trade, now an industry because of its continuous growth and an income earner for those engaged in it, has had a very eventful year, due to problems of vandalism.
Prime Minister Hinds, in March, announced a ban on the sale of scrap metal as a result of high levels of vandalism which saw theft at private residences, state and business entities and tombs.
Because of the disregard shown by scrap metal dealers to previous requests by the Prime Minister and other authorities, dealings in scrap metal, both ferrous and non-ferrous types, were suspended
This is the second instance of prime ministerial action against the industry; the first saw an amendment being made to the Old Metal Act, granting government power to halt the trade in scrap metal for up to one year.
On October 27, however, the ban was lifted for dealers to continue engaging in the recycling of ferrous metals only.
The responsibilities of the Prime Minister’s office and their individual activities for 2010 were evidence of a very challenging year for these sectors, which are critically and inextricably a part of this nation’s dynamic programme of economic advancement and modernisation.