Pull Quote:  Amaila will make businesses in Guyana more competitive and more capable of standing up to competition, and as such will help to broaden the base of its economy, thus making the country more immune to crises.
PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar yesterday called for understanding from all stakeholders  of the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP), urging that they recognize the linkages of the project in society, noting that only looking  at costs is “myopic at best.” The President was at the time addressing a gathering at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Lilliendaal, Greater Georgetown for a stakeholders consultation.
He noted that some are concerned about the debt the project is going to incur, but contended that this debt is not the same as “the debt that so oppressed us in the past when the economy was miniscule because the economy is much bigger now.’
In addition, he related that the savings gained from the AFHP will be enormous, not only for the country as a whole, but for individuals in the society as well.

LINKAGES
The Guyanese leader emphasised that the project must not be seen as unconnected to the rest of society since it is important for it to be seen with all the linkages that it has in the society itself.
He pointed out that this hydropower project will make businesses in Guyana more competitive and more capable of standing up to competition, and as such it will help to broaden the base of its economy, thus making the country more immune to crises.
According to him, this project will be an enormous boost to Guyana’s productive capacity and revenue stream. The President also pointed out  that such a project is necessary to take the country from the status of middle income developing country to that of developed country.
He said that since the People’s Progressive Party government has been in office since 1992, it has recognised the need to fix the physical and social infrastructures that had been broken over the years.  He acknowledged that this has been generally achieved, but it is now time for the country to move beyond that.
In that light, Ramotar stated that new infrastructure is needed, noting that this has also been mentioned in the manifestoes of the other political parties as well, implying that there is the recognition of the need for projects like the AFHP.

MANUFACTURING SECTOR
He observed that one of the inhibiting factors to Guyana’s development is the lack of cheap energy and this is one of the reasons why the country does not have a stronger manufacturing sector.
Acknowledging that many leaders and governments had attempted to develop hydropower projects, the president said the country is now very close to realising the dream of obtaining electricity at a cheap rate, which will contribute to the development of a strong manufacturing sector, along with the creation of thousands of better paying jobs.
He stated, too, that such a project will improve the skills and education capacity of the Guyanese people and also improve health services and enable the development of a stronger agro-processing sector.

SEVERAL CONSULTATIONS
Ramotar stated that some people are claiming that there were not enough consultations on the project. However, he said that this is simply not true. He related that he has invited both opposition parties to several consultation sessions and technical presentations on the project.
He noted that the government had organised three full briefings on the project with the opposition political parties, in addition to meetings with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Guyana Power and Light (GPL).
According to the President, the Opposition has as much information as the government on the AFHP and therefore he felt strongly that they would support the project.
“I dreaded to think that this should be caught up in any kind of political horse trading. I wanted to ensure that they have a buy-in, and that this project should not be seen only as a PPP/C government project, but as a national project, which it has every possibility to be,” he asserted.
Ramotar further stated that even if the government can get the project moving without the support of the parliamentary opposition, he believes that it would be much better to have their support because of the importance of the project.
He said that regardless of individual political convictions, this project will touch the life of each and every single Guyanese in a positive way.

NO STANDING STILL
He stressed that the country cannot confine itself and be satisfied with what it has, adding that it constantly has to strive to improve that.
Ramotar said that in the world today standing still is not an option, as standing still means being left behind, and this is why he said that new infrastructural projects are extremely important.
“We have to do everything to put this project back on stream…This is not a project that we can bargain ‘give me this and I’ll give you that’. This is not that type of project, this project must stand on its own. It must be recognised, the importance of it, to the development of this country, must be recognised by all and all should buy-in…” he said.