The PPP/C Administration has been taking several measures to transform Guyana along a path of sustainable development. This is manifested in the implementation of several mega-projects among which is the construction of the Amalia Falls Hydro-electric project, which actually started under the previous PPP/C administration but was aborted by the APNU+AFC administration when it assumed office in May 2015.

And this despite the fact that an independent report commissioned to determine the feasibility of the project proved that the project is not only financially viable but is one of the best possible options in terms of meeting the energy needs of the country in a sustained and climate-friendly manner.

The current PPP/C administration has re-commenced work on the construction of the project which is expected to commence during the latter part of this year. This is a forward-looking step which will go a far way in addressing the growing energy needs of the country while at the same time bringing down the cost of energy to consumers. Energy costs in Guyana are still relatively high by regional standards and any attempt to reduce such costs should be seen as a welcome development. Yet the political opposition and some uninformed elements continue to peddle all manner of misinformation regarding the viability of the project.

It would seem that no report, however credible, would suffice to convince the political opposition that some projects are good for Guyana as in the case of the Amalia Falls Project, which, had it not been aborted by the-then APNU+AFC regime most likely by now would have already provided power to the national grid. This would have enhanced our competitiveness as a country, in addition to reducing the cost of electricity to consumers.

Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, could not have put it better when he said that the attacks on PPP/C-initiated projects fit into a bigger opposition agenda of frustrating development in the country, especially those intended to bring direct benefits to the Guyanese people.

“Let me be crystal clear that the resumption of this campaign of misinformation has one objective in mind — the same objective as the misinformation campaign during the pre-2015 period and that is to frustrate development — to deny the people development as long as the PPP/C is in office,” the Finance Minister asserted.

Elaborating further on the matter, Minister Singh pointed out that the Amalia Falls Project had been extensively studied and reviewed. Many of the current project risks were known to the public since 2012 and were properly reviewed by all partners including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and due diligence was conducted by expert firms on behalf of the IDB. As recently as 2016, the project was reviewed at the request of the-then APNU+AFC regime by Norway via an independent firm, Norconsult. The current project has been found not only to be financially and technically sound, but also strong in terms of risk management.

Concerns, therefore, now surfacing in one section of the media about the possibility of the Falls running out of water and that the Guyana Government will become liable in such an unlikely eventuality runs counter to all available technical and hydrological studies and can only be seen as a piece of mischief on the part of the peddlers of such misinformation.

The fact is that the project, when completed by 2025, will bring in an additional 165 Megawatts (MW) of clean power. Under the current Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) arrangement, after a 20-year period, the entire project will be handed over to the Government of Guyana at no cost. This is indeed a flagship project which, when completed, will have a transformational impact on the economy of Guyana, and for that matter the lives of all Guyanese.

This project, when added to the anticipated energy from the gas-to-shore project and other energy sources will catapult this country as an energy powerhouse in the region, and, as pointed out by President Dr. Mohamed Ali, there can be no turning back on the PPP/C’s Government energy agenda.  According to President Ali, the future framework of opportunities are built around solar, water, hydrocarbons, forests, hydrogen, hydropower and it is integrated into regional opportunities. A new energy corridor is now being created involving the neighbouring countries of Suriname and Brazil which, according to President Ali, will not only bring down the cost of energy but will also create the space and opportunity for the development of world-class manufacturing, industrial and agro-processing.