Dear Editor,
I REFER to your article “US$115M PetroCaribe money transferred to GPL without formal agreement,” which appeared in your May 14, 2017 edition. While I applaud your efforts to report on a complex subject as the PetroCaribe Fund, it appears that you were misinformed on some of the issues you sought to highlight. The Ministry of Finance would like to clarify those issues for your readers:

1. Contrary to what your article claims, formal agreements were entered into between the Ministry of Finance, acting on behalf of the Government and the Guyana Power & Light Inc. (GPL).

2. Over the period 2007 to 2015, seven (7) years, such agreements were inked with the GPL. Those agreements were entered into on December 3rd, 2007, April 10, 2008, June 11th, 2011, September 12, 2012 and August 20th, 2015.

3. Six (6) of the agreements facilitated the transfers of US$115M made from the PetroCaribe Fund to GPL, while the other agreement covered a loan the PPP/C Government took in May 2010 from the Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM Bank of China) to support GPL’s Infrastructure Development Project for the development and expansion of GPL’s high voltage transmission lines and the associated substations among other activities.

4. The claim by the writer that ‘the lack of agreement represents serious implications and means that a repayment plan, for what was supposed to be a loan, does not exist,’ is incorrect as ALL of the agreements stipulated the terms and conditions of the loan and included a repayment schedule.

5. All of the agreements were signed by the relevant representatives of the Ministry of Finance and the GPL Inc., and copies of these agreements are held by both entities.

6. To date, GPL has made one (1) payment in 2010 for the loans provided to them from the PetroCaribe Fund. However, the entity is currently making $1B payments annually to the Government as partial payment towards the EXIM Bank of China loan.
In closing, contrary to the pronouncements made by Mr. Jagdeo at his recent press briefing, which was reported in your follow up article on this matter, “Jagdeo’s defence of PetroCaribe fund use contradicts public record” KN May 16, 2017, the data below shows that there was no intent to transfer the funds to GPL as a grant as he claims.

These are the facts. Be guided by them, your readers will thank you.

Regards
Wanita Huburn
PRO