EXECUTIVE Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Mr. Zulficar Mustapha, stressed at a PPP media briefing yesterday, at Freedom House on Robb Street, Georgetown, that every single Guyanese citizen stands to benefit — either directly or indirectly — from the wave of increased development and economic expansion that the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP) would create; and it is expected that the opposition will, over the coming days, do their utmost to distract from their monumental error in not supporting the AFHP, but Guyanese cannot let the opposition get away with sabotaging the people’s future. “We encourage more citizens and groups to come forward and join the many others who have already registered their concern at this very unfortunate development,” he said.

Mustapha said the opposition seems comfortable in holding a project as transformational as the AFHP at ransom because of “narrow partisan aims”, and this justifies statements made by President Donald Ramotar in labelling their move “an act of terrorism”.

He said the party joins the wide cross-section of persons from the religious, civil society and business sectors in condemning the move by the Alliance For Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) in voting against legislation crucial to the Amaila Falls Hydro Project.

Last Thursday, the combined opposition voted down the Hydro-Electric Power (Amendment) Bill and a motion to increase the debt ceiling on external loans from $1B to $150B, both of which were critical to the AFHP.

According to Mustapha, there is no rational justification for the AFC/APNU actions, especially because the government had made significant efforts to provide all the details of the project to the opposition, and to answer their every question; besides taking them to the hydro site to inspect the ongoing road construction, where they agreed that much progress has been made.

“The reality, now that the future of the project has been seriously jeopardized, confirms that the opposition — and particularly the PNC in the form of APNU — is hell bent on ensuring that Guyanese do not benefit from a hydro project under any PPP government, as it will show up their dismal failure with their hydro project during their period in government,” Mustapha asserted.