THE Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association (GMSA) has issued a statement fully endorsing the position put forward by the Private Sector Commission (PSC), which urges swift action on the passage of two critical pieces of legislation, and warns that a halt to the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project could result in higher electricity rates and the collapse of the manufacturing sector.

According to the release, the GMSA has, for quite some years, been appealing to the powers that be to reduce the cost of energy, which the GMSA said is by itself the single most debilitating factor inhibiting the incremental growth of Guyana’s manufacturing sector. Companies that provide essential and social services have also been tottering under the impact of high energy charges, which are reflected on the prices of their end products. High energy costs continue to be the deciding factor that has turned away numerous foreign investors interested in utilizing Guyana’s rich, naturally occurring resources.
“It (high energy cost) has put out of operation many new and existing business ventures all across the spectrum, and Guyanese numbering in the thousands have lost jobs because of it. The fortunes and prospects of this nation have been dwindling fast,” the GMSA said in its release, which added that the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project is, without doubt, the solution to this crippling dilemma; and
it is not difficult to predict and itemise the immediate benefits to Guyanese if and when this project is completed, the most obvious being the creation of jobs in the electricity sector itself; the emergence of new downstream enterprises; and a healthier manufacturing sector, with entrepreneurs able to penetrate overseas markets farther than the Caribbean and North America, while satisfying customers and distributors with higher quality products in greater quantities.
Moreover, the release stated, the external image of Guyana is at stake, as is the country’s ability to attract consideration for further foreign assistance if it deliberately throws away the willing contribution of the globally high-ranking financial institution, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
As such, the GMSA adds its voice to the national chorus, and implores the Parliamentary House to pass the two pieces of legislation, which are extremely critical to the country’s ability to move forward past the initial stages of the Amaila project.
“Consideration must be given to the hundreds of people currently employed on the project itself, and the thousands more who will be able to work and earn as the project progresses. The livelihoods of all Guyanese are at stake,” the GMSA asserted in its release.
In addition, the GMSA said, cost-efficient and reliable energy is the pillar of any country’s economic development strategy, and Guyana is no different. “Any such strategy must necessarily be apolitical. The GMSA urges Parliament to put tit-for-tat politics aside and do what is necessary to release Guyanese from the grasp of ordinariness,” the GMSA release said.