THE joint opposition’s objection to every developmental programme the Government embarks on is based on self-serving interests. These parties and their allies/colleagues in the opposition media cabal, and affiliated NGOs, exist and thrive on funding from private profit-motivated entities; so let us briefly examine some of them, and the characters driving these negative and unjustified attacks on Government developmental projects. The    Marriott is a branded hotel chain that will attract tourists of a class that can catalyse the tourism industry to unimaginable heights and provide thousands of jobs, either directly or indirectly.  However Robert Badal, who funds the AFC, feels threatened by the competition; which, while his business acumen should be applauded, his disloyalty to his country should be abhorred , because this is the era of open markets where investors need to forge ahead by being innovative in the products they have on offer, so rather than Badal seeing the establishment of the Marriott as a challenge, with which he can work in partnership, in that if a film star puts up at the Marriott, his/her retinue can be lodged at the Pegasus etc, etc, etc. Get the point?  Instead, Badal has openly espoused an opportunistic political/media cabal to try to bring down a government that has created avenues for a business boom from which Badal himself has benefited phenomenally, which is extremely short-sighted of him, because if the PNC accedes to government- heaven forbid, then Greenidge would once more become finance minister, because like The United Force(TUF) of yore, the AFC would be totally discarded once it has served its purpose; at least the PPP defectors would be discarded, because the PNC is home to the others and one wonders at their myopia.
Now could you imagine what would happen if these people get their hands on the treasury- the surplus which the PPP Government has built up over years of prudent management of Guyana’s fiscal dynamics? Like the Marriott, the naysayers and doomsayers had a lot of negative things to say about our national stadium and the Princess Hotel, and other ground-breaking initiatives, but today every Guyanese is enjoying these facilities. They protested when former President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo facilitated Shivraj to build Buddy’s hotel (now Princess), but said not a word when similar concessions were given to another proposed hotel – the Cacique, owned by a supporter of the PNC. That structure, which started at the same time as Buddy’s prior to Cricket World Cup in Guyana, still remains incomplete, while the money has disappeared. Shivraj has repaid the Government with interest, which proved a wise investment, while the owners of the Cacique – which is a white elephant (not the Marriott, which has not even been built as yet, so the term cannot apply) are yet in limbo.
GuySuCo is a problematic industry that supports a wide swathe of Guyanese – directly and indirectly, so, while in the wake of the devastating EU price reversals many other Caribbean territories scrapped their sugar industries, Guyana has decided – in the face of great odds, including destructive agronomic effects of climate changes and a rapidly reducing labour force, which is opting for better employment opportunities- Government is relentlessly forging ahead with diverse efforts to make the industry sustainable in an attempt to reverse its fortunes to its former state of viability once more – but it is a work in progress, which is not helped by the opposition’s relentless efforts, in collaboration with some of GuySuCo’s own opposition-supporting management, to stymie the systems in efforts to make the industry fail and prove the country ungovernable under a PPP/C watch.
Apart from these considerations, one must not forget that the factories and equipment in the industry are centuries old and re-capitalisation during the PNC years was not possible, because former President Burnham had diverted Guysuco’s money through a monstrous levy to the bauxite workers, the public service, fund GNS etc – which caused irreversible deterioration in the systems. It is only brilliant innovative methods of maintenance by ordinary sugar workers that has maintained the functionality of the older estates, but Government is having to cope, on a daily basis with the effects of the destruction to systems under the PNC’s watch – such as the Demerara Harbour Bridge, which was so destroyed that PPP/C had a picture in its 1992 elections that showed former President Hoyte standing on a piece of the bridge that was floating out to the Atlantic Ocean, and the floats underneath were plugged up with old cloth and plastic bags.
The list is endless –the developmental projects crafted through successive PPP/C Manifestos and its Poverty Reduction Plan that are being stymied by the join opposition cabal; but this destructive hurricane that is Guyana’s opposition in its irredeemable campaign has now thrust its knife in Government’s flagship energy sector project – the Amaila Falls Hydropower project.
Their voting down of the hydropower Bill is certainly another display of their lack of patriotism and a revelation of their intention to stymie the steady progress achieved in the nation over the past two decades.
Voting against the Hydro-Electric Power (Amendment) Bill has certainly endangered the IFIs co-funding to enable Government’s efforts toward providing cheap, reliable and clean energy directly to the citizens of this country through service provision; and indirectly through impacts to costs of locally-manufactured and processed goods.
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 because of time constraints on critical deadlines and expiration dates for funding of this and related projects.
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, as well as for the conservation and preservation of the environment and ecosystem surrounding the hydroelectric resources in Guyana.
Commenting to media that last Friday was a dark day for Guyana, the President listed what the actions of the joint opposition would mean. “Their actions now place the Amaila Falls Hydro-electrical project, the largest project in Guyana’s history, in jeopardy.

“Government made it clear that support of the Bill was a pre-condition to complete due diligence by the IDB. The legislative amendment was expected to be completed by the end of July.”

“Electricity is one of the most basic needs of a population. The need for and impact of cheap electricity is not something that any reasonable person should think is open for debate.

“Hydro Power will bring great benefits to every single Guyanese.

“In the first place it will bring to an end the blackouts that even though reduced, are still an annoyance and an inconvenience.

“It will bring down the cost of electricity to consumers by between 25 – 40% of what we pay now.

“It will also allow us to reduce our carbon footprint further and earn millions of US dollars in carbon credits.

“It will save our country billions from reducing the importation of fuel oil for the generation of electricity. Indeed at today’s price we would save as much as G$40 billion per annum.

“With cheap energy we can do much more processing – more value added[production] and we can build a vibrant manufacturing sector. All of these will create many jobs and enhance the technical capacity of our working people. It has the potential to increase investments and enhance our country’s competitiveness internationally.

“This project is a Build, Operate and Transfer Project. Twenty years after operating this will belong to all Guyana. The life of the station is expected to be at a minimum of 75 years. This means that at least for 55 years, the cost of generating electricity from that station would be just its operational cost.

“Hydro-power in Guyana is overdue by a generation.”
According to Inews, the Alliance For Change (AFC) has stated in a press release that it was fully prepared to support the Hydro-Electric Power (Amendment) Bill 2013 in the National Assembly last Friday.
According to the AFC, “This Bill provides for the conservation and preservation of the environment and eco-systems surrounding the hydroelectric resources of Guyana. The AFC supports any rational measure to protect the environment.”
However, despite acknowledging this fact, the AFC still voted against the Bill..
The AFC noted that it was not prepared to support the motion brought by the Government seeking approval to raise the guarantee of loans by public corporations and companies to $150B.
The CIOG has expressed its concern with the Opposition’s non – support for the Hydro Bill, and the PSC has openly condemned the opposition for their opportunistic stance of non-cooperation on the Hydro Bill.