NAACIE’s General Secretary Kenneth Joseph says serious questions will have to be asked of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) over the use of Chinese nationals to construct a sub-station at Good Hope on the East Coast Demerara. Joseph yesterday told Stabroek News that the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) knew nothing of the works at Good Hope, and he only learned of the situation on Saturday after it was reported in the Stabroek News.
Joseph stated that before the management of GPL changed, the union received constant updates concerning the company’s operations which enabled them to properly monitor its works for its members. He said however, that this changed under current Chief Executive Officer Bharat Dindyal. Joseph said that the company now does what it wants without consulting its stakeholders.
He stated that now that these matters have been brought to light some serious concerns have arisen, and some questions must, and will be asked. NAACIE is currently in a dispute with GPL over wages.
It recently came to light that Chinese workers are presently involved in the construction of the GPL sub-station at Good Hope, East Coast Demerara which is part of a huge project being financed by a US$39.6M loan from the Chinese government through China’s Export-Import Bank.
The disclosure comes amid the furore that only Chinese workers have been employed for the construction of the controversial Marriott Hotel in Kingston.
A visit by Stabroek News to the Good Hope site on Friday afternoon revealed that all except one of the workers undertaking the construction were Chinese. The numbers of workers at GPL have been reduced over the years and observers say there would likely be a cadre of persons who are skilled in the tasks now being undertaken at Good Hope.
Chief Executive Officer of GPL Dindyal yesterday stated that he never mentioned to East Coast residents that the Good Hope GPL Sub-Station would be constructed by Chinese nationals.
He stated that the tapes from the meeting would be able to back that up. He confirmed that a meeting was indeed held to inform the residents of the sub-station’s potential benefits, but maintained that he did not mention any details relating to who would be involved in the structure’s construction.
When asked about the circumstances surrounding the hiring of the Chinese to work on the project however, Dindyal stated that he would not discuss any of the details of the contract.
As in the case of the Marriott hotel project, it would appear that deals with China and Chinese firms is coming with the stipulation that Chinese workers have to be employed and that the Guyana Government has acquiesced to this notwithstanding the labour laws of the country and the dire need for jobs here.
The Chinese-funded GPL project will see significant investment in upgrading transmission lines from Kingston, Georgetown to Versailles, West Bank Dem-erara via submarine cables, Sophia to George-town, Sophia to Onverwagt, overhead cables from Versailles to Edinburgh, West Coast Demerara. It will also facilitate the construction of seven new substations at George-town, D’Urban Backlands, Diamond, Good Hope, Mahaica, Versailles, Edin-burgh and upgrades to Onverwagt and Sophia.
