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The minister pointed out that electricity tariffs have not increased since 2007, even though the price of fuel has since gone up. He added that GPL has carried this increased cost without passing it on to its consumers, and noted that GPL was therefore in financial distress even before the cut to the subsidy was imposed, but the cut exacerbated the situation.
Singh said that whilst it is unwelcome news, it should not be surprising that GPL now finds itself in a situation where its finances cannot sustain its operations without increasing tariffs.
He said he hopes the Opposition is taking notice at the implications being faced by the Guyanese people because of the budget cuts, especially since Leader of the Opposition, David Granger, was quoted in a local newspaper yesterday saying that no impact has been seen yet from the cuts.
In regard to asking for a supplementary provision in the National Assembly, the Finance Minister said the idea that the Opposition could impose a cut to the budget and then government could ask for a supplementary is “nothing more than a smokescreen.”
He questioned why the Opposition did not approve the entire subsidy in the first place, given that every question in this regard was answered by the Government.
Singh also related that the increased rate in electricity tariffs will impose an increased burden on both individual households and commercial entities on GPL’s power grid.
Meanwhile, Minister within the Finance Ministry, Mr Juan Edghill, said reading the Opposition leader saying there has been no implication to the budget cuts can only cause one to think that he is “either not well advised, his foot is not on the ground in Guyana, or his head is not thinking the reality of the Guyanese people.
“Is the impact that Mr. Granger is looking for (to be seen in) hundreds of Guyanese people on the streets protesting because they cannot afford to pay the increase in electricity? Is he creating a platform of political instability to further a political agenda?” Minister Edghill questioned.
Edghill further noted that while the opposition members were loud and aggressive in going after GPL, there was special treatment and almost deafening silence when it came to Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice).
He said the Government hopes good sense would prevail and there would be a hasty retreat to discovering the mistake that the Opposition has made, and there would be acknowledgement to the people of Guyana that they (the Opposition) failed in their responsibility to the people when they made the reckless cut.
PPP Executive Secretary, Mr Zulficar Mustapha, said the PPP is very concerned at the recent application by GPL to the Public Utilities Commission for approval of 26.7 percent increase in electricity rates to consumers.
Noting that this follows the cuts to the GPL subsidy from the national budget, he pointed out that several pleas were made by Government, the management of GPL, and other stakeholders for the Alliance For Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) to refrain from taking the step of cutting the GPL subsidy. “They ignored this and went ahead, fully aware of the consequences it would have on consumers,” he said.
Mustapha further emphasised that the Opposition cannot pretend to be ignorant of the challenges, and what is being done to correct them by the GPL management.
