AT first glance, one would feel that many people have misunderstood the issue of the Amaila Falls hydropower project which saw some changes recently, more so, with the change of licence from Synergy to Sithe Global. However, it seems that some sections of the media are deliberately misrepresenting the facts in an effort to create confusion in the minds of Guyanese.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds recently clarified the issue in a statement in which  he explained the conception of the Amaila Falls project and the circumstances under which the interim licence was changed. I believe that the Prime Minister’s statement was very straightforward and I fail to understand why some persons are still confused. This is the only word I can associate with these persons who continue to offer misrepresentations of the issue.
The Prime Minister rightly explained that this is the way big projects get done and provided examples relating to the mining sector and the way companies work to get the projects done and recover their investments.
Government has been encouraging investments in alternative power sources for a long time now and the Prime Minister has explained that Mr. Motilall began considering and pursuing development of the Amaila Falls project since 1997. He has sought assistance along the way from various companies and continued to refine the project and sought new partners.
The Prime Minister in his statement addressing the issue said the “Government was satisfied with their periodic reports and from time to time judged that it was reasonable to extend the Interim Licence.  Eventually, Synergy won the interest and attention of Sithe Global now a part of the Blackstone Group.  In time, as Sithe Global worked its way into the role of leading partner to take the Amaila Falls hydropower project to construction and operation, on the request of Synergy and on the Government’s own consideration and demand, a new Interim Licence was issued in the name of Sithe Global in October 2009.”
There was nothing illegal in all of this. Anyone who invests money and time into a project would expect to be compensated, and Mr. Motilall and his partners have invested a lot of time and funds into the development since 1997 and have put a cost to their efforts. This cannot be seen as unreasonable as no one works for free.
Quite rightly as the Prime Minister said, “It is quite standard practice that a pioneer having developed a project to a certain point finds a bigger, stronger partner to take the project forward. The pioneer is rewarded in part or in whole with a cash payment at the time and some equity interest in the realised project. Depending upon the profitability of the project the pioneer would receive a multiple on his investment in cash and time. Of course the many more times when the project dies before realisation, the pioneer receives nothing.”