By Johann Earle
Last evening’s rejection of a bill and debt motion by the opposition has been described by the government as the “funeral” of the ambitious US$840M Amaila Falls Hydropower Project.
“We see this as the funeral for the Amaila Falls project we are at just at about such a point…I am astounded by the events and still wondering what happened ,” Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Leader of the House for Government Business told a press conference last night after the sitting of Parliament.
“There was a time when I thought that we would have closed the gap…when both sides would have come out smiling…that we would have made sacrifices for the good of Guyana,” he lamented.
Hinds declared that his government has been left so shocked by the developments – as it had wholly depended on the opposition’s support – that it could not think of a “resurrection” plan at the moment. However he said that they were determined and would not give up trying and he pleaded with the opposition to put aside political views and think of the dollar savings to the pockets of Guyanese.
Hind’s views were echoed by Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh who said that not only was it a “grave travesty” to the nation but that to international investors it sends a signal of disunity among Guyanese leaders. He lamented about the years of work placed on the project, both though human and financial resources, saying that he never envisioned that such a plan would have been rejected as its benefits were thoroughly discussed with the opposition.
He called the move “sabotage and political horse-trading” for political gain by the opposition.
While it may take years before the motion is once again brought there would be financial ramifications to deal with. “Even if we were to come back it is compromised…coming back changes the dynamics of the agreement,” he said.
Government’s Chief Whip Gail Teixeira was very vocal in expressing her disappointment at the opposition’s voting down of the bill and motion which had been the subject of a campaign by the government to pressure the opposition into supporting. Nonetheless she said that all hope was not lost and that given that the benefits of the project to the Guyanese people far outweighed any other factor there could still be a solution and that the opposition should rethink and change its stance.
In what can be said to be a rare occurrence since the commencement of the 10th Parliament, the Opposition chose to remain silent during the debate of the Hydro Electric Power Amendment Bill 2013 and the motion on raising the limit on guarantees given under the Guarantee of Loans (Public Corporations and Companies) Act. None of the members of the Opposition spoke save for the final vote and the occasional heckle. This stratagem replicated the government stance earlier in the session when PM Hinds and Local Government Minister Ganga Persaud opted for silence when pressed on proceeding with a suite of local government reform bills. (See other story on page 11.)
First, the Opposition voted against the Hydro Electric Power Amendment Bill, a piece of legislation aimed at making the Amaila Falls hydro project compliant in terms of sustainable development and the environmental policies of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) which is one of the prospective high-profile financiers of the project.
Then the Opposition blocked the passage of the motion whose resolve clause would have seen the increase of the limit for loan guarantees, a requirement to allow the Guyana Power and Light to have a Power Purchase Agreement with the Amaila Falls Hydro project.
Minister of Natural Resources and the Environ-ment Robert Persaud, speaking of the importance of hydropower to Guyana’s economic future, said that the project is a necessity if Guyana is to move to the next stage.
“Any objective observer…would be startled and would wonder why is it that this nation with this hydropower potential is discussing whether or not there should be broad support for the project,” he said.
Persaud outlined that the vision of hydro power did not commence with the PPP Government but has been one spoken of for decades in Guyana. “So why is it in July 2013 we are meeting in the National Assembly sending confusing signals as to whether or not we are serious about hydroelectricity,” he said.
Minister of Works Robeson Benn said that the project must be a realisation of the tremendous hydropower potential that goes to waste in the country.
“We have always said that the missing term in our development equation is the question of cheap power. Our country will always remain, poor, backward and underdeveloped if we cannot address the question of power,” he said. “When we look at our waterfalls what we are seeing is power going to waste. And here we now have the ability in our Parliament to make the kind of decisions which would solve this great problem in our country,” he said.
He said that Guyana would not be able to get involved in alumina smelting unless the country has cheap power.
Speaking at the conclusion of the one-sided debate, Prime Minister Hinds said that he could not understand why it was that the Opposition would choose to remain silent on the Bill and said that their actions spoke volumes and that they must be accountable to their constituents for their actions.
Hinds, like his colleague Minister Benn before him, issued an emphatic appeal to the Opposition, using the word ‘beg’ to seek their support for the Bill and the eventual motion to come. He said that the Parliament would be rejecting a golden opportunity if it did not act on passing the Bill. “If this Bill is not passed it may take easily five or ten years before we can put things together again and attract investors to come back and to look at a development such as this,” he said. “Before we put [the Bill] to a vote I would like to ask the Opposition to reconsider once more,” he said.
Government speakers said that the Opposition stance on the Bill was retaliatory since they had tried unsuccessfully to strong-arm the Government into debating the four local government Bills. The Government however had refused to commence the debate and stayed silent, leading to the Bills being struck off the Order Paper.
Commencing the debate on the debt ceiling motion, Minister of Finance Singh said that this motion is one that is linked to the “historic and transformational Amaila Falls hydropower project.”
Singh said that the APNU and AFC acting in concert are inflicting harm on the people of Guyana through their non-support of the project. “I trust that the Opposition will benefit from a reawakening of its conscience and receive a message from any one or any number of the 750,000 Guyanese persons who have waited for so long for hydropower,” he said.
He said that in order for GPL to be able to purchase power from the project, “it is necessary to raise the limit on the aggregate value of guarantees that can be issued under the Act of interest before us, that limit having last been set in 1980, when it was raised from $500 million to $1 billion.”
Speaking on the motion, Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali said that the debate was an opportunity to separate selfish political motives from nationalistic thinking. He called for the Opposition to understand the economic benefits that would come from the projects.
Ali said that there is a difference between raising the debt ceiling and guaranteeing debt and this point must be emphasised.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall said it is a moment of regret to be a part of a process of killing something that could bring Guyana out of poverty.
“[I am sure that] every member on that side would like to see a prosperous Guyana, therefore it is hard to understand their actions,” he said.
He said that the motion and the Bill must be approved for the IDB to support the project. “How are we going to explain to future generations that we did not vote for this project when we spent millions on the road,” Nandlall asked.
Teixeira said the parliament is on the cusp of an important point in the country’s history. She said the country’s credibility and trustworthiness are at stake and that the Opposition’s non-support for the motion will do harm to people and their livelihoods and damage the political environment.
“History will judge us as standing on the right side,” she said, adding that the country will suffer collateral damage as a result of the Opposition’s stance.
Teixeira reminded that it was the Opposition that called for the Bill and motion to be deferred. She said that Opposition had five weeks from the time the bill and motion were tabled in the House. She added that during the meetings with the Speaker yesterday, the parties discussed the possibility of a trade-off in support of the Hydro Bill and the loans guarantee motion in exchange for its support for the local government Bills.
“All the efforts to try to acquiesce to the APNU and AFC failed. It is a sad day in terms of the body politic of the country,” she said, adding that they are prepared to sacrifice a transformative project for their own ends.
Hinds said Government was ready to forgo reservations they had on two of the local government bills if the Opposition was prepared to support the motion on the debt ceiling.
Hinds said money from GRIF forest preservation funds for the hydro project now seem in jeopardy. “I would say the project has been greatly wounded on the floor of the House tonight. Money from the GRIF fund compromised,” he said. Hinds said that government will stay engaged with the international partners on the project.
The rejection of the bill and motion underlines the continued deep-seated division between the government and the opposition within and without the 10th parliament, observers say.
