–find investor to produce cheap electricity; interview Opposition Leader; build three 10-storey hospitals for US$48M

VICE-President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo on Tuesday evening challenged Kaieteur News publisher Glenn Lall to deliver on several claims he made during his show on Kaieteur Radio.
Lall, during the radio programme, claimed that many projects could be done differently and at a lower costs.

One of his claims was that it is possible to produce electricity at just three US cents per kilowatt hour with larger renewable energy projects, and it has been achieved in other parts of the world.
In response, the Vice-President said that Lall’s recommendation is not feasible, since many countries are building more gas power plants and exploring the market for more oil and gas supplies to compensate for the resources lost as a result of sanctions imposed on Russia.

The Vice-President went on to say that it is clear that the world cannot achieve “net zero carbon emissions” without gas being used as a transitional fuel.
This, he said, has been accepted by the US, Europe, and several other nations.

“What you’re speaking of is dated information, you’re talking about eight months ago before COP26. All of this has changed,” Dr Jagdeo said, adding that many of the nations that have attempted to dissuade Guyana and other developing nations from going into this have also begun to invest more in the transition.

“There is unlimited demand,” the Vice-President related.
He reiterated that net zero could never be achieved without a transitional fuel and the world has accepted that gas will be that fuel.

“In Guyana’s case, we have decided to monetize this gas and are making an investment that would be paid back from the liquids from the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant, and will generate enough power which will allow the government to sell it at half of its current price and further have stable power,” Dr. Jagdeo said.

The Vice-President expressed his satisfaction at being able to “clarify” the government’s position and set the record straight, especially regarding oil and gas.
Dr. Jagdeo, however, challenged Lall to invite Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton to be a guest on the Kaieteur Radio programme to answer some of the same questions as they relate to the opposition’s position on oil and gas.

The Vice-President further disclosed that his government has put resources into enhancing the well-being of citizens, and has invested in building more hospitals and schools, and providing more scholarships and learning opportunities for Guyanese.

More specifically, Dr Jagdeo noted that a lot of funds have been invested to develop hospitals for Guyanese.
Lall, however, said that he is capable of building three 10-storey hospitals at a cost of $48 million.

In an immediate response, the Vice-President urged Lall to compare the prices of hospital beds in countries such as Europe and the United States.
Dr Jagdeo went a step further to challenge the Kaieteur News publisher to deliver on what he said and build three 10-storey hospitals at the aforementioned cost.
Lall was also challenged by the Vice-President to produce information to support many other claims made in his newspaper.