THE Hydro-Electric Power (Amendment) Bill was last evening rejected by members of the combined parliamentary Opposition, who voted against its second reading after also choosing to abstain from the debate on the bill.Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh had warned that without parliamentary support on this bill, progress with the Amaila Falls Hydro Power (AFHP) project could be threatened as critical deadlines and expiration dates are looming. The amendment to the Hydro-Electric Power Act would have increased the penalty for the breach of regulations made under the principal Act to $1M, and would have also conferred on the president the power to create hydro-electric offset reserve areas and rules for the establishment of the said areas, and for the conservation and preservation of the environment and ecosystem surrounding the hydroelectric resources in Guyana.
The bill was read for the first time on June 13, and was scheduled to be read a second time last evening when a vigorous debate was also expected. However, in a show of their non-support for the bill, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) chose not to participate in the debate, leaving the government Members of Parliament (MP’s) “begging” for their support.
Prime Minister and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Samuel Hinds, who moved the second reading of the bill in the National Assembly, noted that the opposition parties chose to remain mum as it relates to the Hydro-Electric Power (Amendment) Bill and stated that this clearly shows their opposition to a developmental initiative which would bring electricity rates down by more than 50 percent and protect the country against the volatility of oil prices.
“For the benefit of the people of Guyana, we are prepared to beg the opposition to reconsider their position and support this bill,” Hinds stated, while still trying to convince opposition members to lend their support.
The PM further cautioned that if this bill is not passed, it may take five to ten years to attract investors to come back to Guyana and invest in such a project, regardless which political party is in government.
In his bid to persuade members of the House of the bill’s importance, Hinds noted that the existing Act is nearly 60 years old and as such, there is much that requires updating.
According to him, the bill sought to address the environmental considerations which in these times, he said, must be factored into hydro-electric power development projects.
Meanwhile, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Mr. Robert Persaud, said that the amendments to the Hydro-Electric Power Act were harmless but very important, noting that Guyana has long had tremendous potential in the area of hydro-power.
“If we’re moving so close, why is it we cannot have some level of consensus, if only just to realise that long-held dream and aspiration, ambition we’ve had as a nation?” he questioned.
He further stated that, putting aside that dream, it is also about the economic, social and the environmental survival of the nation.
Persaud stressed that any objective observer would be startled as to why a country with such tremendous potential in hydropower is still discussing whether or not there should be support for amendments and eventually for the entire project.
He further emphasised that the People’s Progressive Party Government has made it clear and shown by its actions that it is serious about the eventual development of a hydro electric station.
“I want to assure you, Mr. Speaker, and assure the people of Guyana, that the PPP/Civic will not be daunted and that we will stay on the course of ensuring that there is hydro electric development in our country,” he emphasised.
Persaud stated that the amendments to the Act would allow Guyana to not only be compliant with its international partners, but would also ensure that the impact of the project is minimised.
He added that the passage of the bill would not bring any political points or glory to anyone, but it will ensure that Guyana, as a nation in its march forward and in its efforts to develop a hydro electric station, does so in compliance with the best environmental safeguards.
Minister of Public Works, Mr. Robeson Benn, said that the missing term in Guyana’s development equation is the question of cheap power.
“Our country will always remain poor, backward, underdeveloped, if we cannot solve the question of power and in this case, hydro power,” he asserted.
The minister also joined his colleagues on the government side in “begging” for the opposition’s support for the bill.
“I am not a man who is accustomed to begging, I am prepared Mr. Speaker here tonight to beg the members on the other side of this House to make a clear assessment of what they need to do in the national interest. This is not a political interest, this is the national interest” he stated.
During the recess, after PM Hinds had started the ball rolling on the debate, members of the government and the opposition parties discussed and deliberated for more than an hour on the way forward in dealing with the Hydro-Electric Power (Amendment) Bill.
However, upon resuming the sitting, Speaker of the National Assembly Mr. Raphael Trotman informed that many proposals were made, all of which he said had merit, but they were still unable to arrive at a compromise or consensus.
As such, the “debate” resumed without participation from any opposition members. At the end of the debate, members of the APNU and the AFC voted against the second reading of the bill.
After a division was called by the government side, the votes had initially amounted to 32 members against the motion for the second reading of the bill and 31 for. However, after government Chief Whip Gail Teixeira pointed out that one opposition member had voted while he was not seated, that vote was not counted.
The results of the division were therefore adjusted to 31/31, representing a tie and the motion was still not carried.