-says has cost country an additional US$373.6m
The Alliance For Change (AFC) has come out against the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government’s management strategies regarding the electricity sector saying it has cost the country US$373.6m.
The AFC, in a press release signed by senior executive David Patterson, outlined what it says are the “incompetencies” associated with gas-to-energy project timelines and costs attached to the government’s temporary measures to address the country’s rising energy demands. In the press release, issued on Saturday, Patterson said that Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo’s October celebration of the US EXIM Bank’s approval for the loan was premature. In fact, the AFC’s release reminded that official approval was only received on December 26, 2024.
The AFC said that despite the euphoria behind the loan approval by the PPP/C and their cheerleaders, the citizens of Guyana should be apprised of the full details behind what is now the single largest loan taken by this country. According to Patterson, when the PPP/C government announced that they had embarked on what they claimed would be the single greatest “transformation” project in the country’s history, the gas to power project in Wales – the project budget was listed at US$810m with a completion date of two years, meaning that this project was slated to be completed by 2024.
Based on the PPP/C’s own projections, Patterson argued, that the government sat on their hands, and did nothing for three years to address the rising demand for electricity. Faced with the reality that they had grossly mismanaged the power sector, the AFC said the government then embarked on “several reckless emergency spending activities” to cover up for their shortfall. The AFC again sought to remind that twenty-seven third-hand containerized generating sets and a 36 MW power ship were rented before a 75 MW power ship was added to the generating stock – which the party says were all temporary measures to address the country’s energy deficit. The AFC, in its release, was adamant that the PPP/C government ought to have known and should have anticipated this energy shortfall upon assumption of office in 2020.
The AFC cited what it said was the economic costs resulting from the PPP/C’s “staggering incompetence”. The AFC’s release detailed the costs as follows: the container sets were procured for US$27m. By 2025 the cumulative cost to the taxpayers (procurement costs + fuel + transportation) will be US$95.1m. Two years of rental and operational costs for the 36 MW power ship will be US$130.7m, and one year’s rental and operational costs for the 75 MW power ship will be US$147.8m. The AFC says, in total, the PPP/C’s mismanagement has cost the country an additional US$373.6m. This US$373.6m, the AFC says, could have been used in procuring new generating sets for GPL, which would remain on stand-by if the gas power plant developed a fault or has to be taken offline for maintenance purposes. Further, the AFC says taxpayers should consider that the US$373.6m and counting, being spent on temporary measures, is nearly half of the original cost of the gas to shore project. No businessman, the release says, would spend his hard-earned revenue like this.
Going forward, the AFC release called upon the government to tell the nation what their contingency plan is. The release asked on the expiration of the rental period for the two power ships, how will the government replace the 111 MW required as backup electricity for Guyanese, in the event of any issue that is normal with operating plants? The AFC contended that it is evident that as with other sectors, the government’s management of the power sector has been nothing short of gross incompetence and Guyanese, both in their homes and businesses, continue to suffer the consequences with no one held accountable outside of the “cinematic PR displays”.