Former President Bharrat Jagdeo is blaming the opposition parties’ non-support for the Amaila Falls hydropower project for stymieing the country’s drive to go green as well as the economic and environmental benefits such a move would yield.
“Climate change affects every single one of us… yet we have controversy because of this silly politics. But this does not differentiate if you APNU or PPP or any party, it affects all of us,” Jagdeo told attendees at a dinner hosted by the Guyana Manufac-turing and Services Association (GMSA) on Friday evening at the Princess Hotel.
It was rare public appearance by the former president, who said that as hard as it was, he stayed silent for three years, observing and analysing the effects of climate change globally. He said because of his passion for the environment, he felt the need to speak out to increase awareness about climate change in the Caribbean region, and especially Guyana.
Jagdeo opined that Guyana lost an opportunity to push and develop its green initiative with the Amaila Falls hydropower project, which he blamed on politics. “The biggest green opportunity in Guyana everyone knows is the hydro power… today, the politics of our country will not allow us to move forward,” he stated.
He added that he believed that that even the project’s contract award showed a global green partnership. “A US investor, a Chinese firm and Guyana; a perfect example of going green can be global,” he noted.
He said that while the opposition has labelled the project a corrupt one, there was no evidence to support this claim. He said that while there have been criticisms on the choice of China Railway Group to execute the project, that decision was made by the United States company Blackstone. He informed that when he heard that there were charges of corruption levelled at government, he relayed to the then United States Ambassador that the Embassy has a duty to investigate and make public its findings.
“We did not choose China Railway it was Blackstone…,” he pointed out.
To the manufacturers in attendance at the dinner, Jagdeo emphasised that for their businesses to develop and thrive competitive power is needed and in Guyana this can only be achieved through hydro-power.
As he made his case for the Amaila Falls project and hydropower in general in Guyana, Jagdeo pointed to the large percentage of revenue the country uses to import fuel. He said that if this spending is saved, Guyana can see sharper rises on the global development index.
“My argument is that there are several compelling reasons to have hydro…. Guyana uses $500 million a year to import fuel. Just imagine a huge bill for paying debts and a huge bill for paying for fuel… if PetroCaribe falls apart tomorrow, we will have major problems …if we build this hydro, what we have is long term savings… in just 20 years we can save $1.2 billion dollars,” he explained.
Despite the pullout of the developer Sithe Global, which essentially shelved the US$800M project last year, government has said that interest in moving forward remains high. The investor withdrew its participation in the venture after enabling legislative measures failed to win unanimous support in the National Assembly.
Jagdeo was also asked by former army Chief of Staff Major General (rtd) Norman McLean for an update on the proposed Turtruba Hydropower Project that Brazil had shown interest in many years ago. He said he could not speak for government. “I am trying to be a bit careful. I can’t speak on behalf of the government of Guyana because I am not a part of the government of Guyana. Yes, there is an MOU and the MOU looked at studying hydro-power in all of Guyana,” he replied. Jagdeo was also critical of the opposition’s non-support of the Marriott Hotel project, saying that while criticism of the project has been plentiful no one from the combined opposition has shown interest in investing US$8M in equity that is open to the public. “We went to a public tender for that too because they claim it was corrupt… Trinidad, with all the hotels, had built a hotel there, and Barbados did too and here, in Guyana, we had one hotel—that’s from the 60s—and then this one here we had to help with the financing… if it was so wonderful and everyone wanted to build hotels until now, they should have bought the 66 percent equity in the Marriott for US$8M” he said. “But the same people who think that the market is flourishing so well and you don’t need this type of investment, they won’t,” he added.
While he explained that questions posed should be on his presentation, one attendee nonetheless asked Jagdeo if he would be seeking a third term as president. “Third term and so on? Those are political issues that is why I have stayed away. I have done my bit,” he said.
He also said that his views are that policymakers should have the input of the populace as he was a democratic person. “I don’t like dictatorships at all. I believe you can be democratic and still you have a mandate to the people,” he said.
