Is the hydro project on hold?

Aug 11, 2012 Editorial

The silence on the part of the government about certain projects is not only alarming, but it is also disheartening to anyone who is seeking to follow the national development trends of the country. On many occasions there would be announcements of development plans; people would sit with bated breath, because the announcements would hold out so much hope for a country that has long been in the doldrums.
In this day and age there are many people who still confuse Guyana with Ghana; who only recognize the country if someone mentions Jonestown. In the United Kingdom, perhaps because of cricket, the names Clive Lloyd and Rohan Kanhai would give the listener an inkling of where the country really is.
In the United States, because of the criminal nature of some Guyanese and the drug connection with countries like Colombia, the country may be well known, but only as a drug transshipment point.
Development moves may have made the country more recognisable. When President Bharrat Jagdeo took his Low Carbon Development Strategy to the rest of the world in the face of climate change fears, suddenly he became more of a household name than the country he represents.
With all the talk about clean air and lesser reliance on fossil fuels which are said to be fuelling global warming, Guyana should have been better known as a country that was walking the walk and talking the talk. Indeed it did take the first step in the walk when it announced the construction of a hydroelectricity facility that would have slashed the nation’s imported fuel bill by more than fifty per cent.
Further, the country would have reduced its carbon emission which, by international standards, is nothing to shout about. However, the country would have been able to sell its carbon credits for more money, supplementing what it was about to receive from Norway.
There was a lot of noise when the government announced the hydroelectric project. There was to be the construction of the road to the site; the contractors had already been identified and the loans had been all but tied up. The government had agreed to spend a sum of money and so avoid the higher final cost; the major contractor had indicated its contribution and the size of the loan had been agreed on.
The people of Guyana were very aware of the debacle that followed the award of the contract to Makeshwar ‘Fip’ Motilall and Motilall’s failure to construct the road. But even after the contract had been taken away and the new road contractors, identified, there were deadline adjustments.
By now, the actual construction of the hydroelectric facility should have begun, but the project seems to be heading in the same direction of a previous attempt to construct a hydropower facility nearly forty years ago. The road is far from complete nearly a year since it should have been and the major loan is still to be secured.
We were warned that the longer it would take to finalise the loan agreement, the more costly the project would be. There was a mad rush to finalise the loan before the Chinese appreciate their currency vis-à-vis the United States dollar. This loan finalization programme should have been completed by June. This has not been done and there has not been a word from the government. There has also been total silence on the state of the road being constructed. It is as if the project has ground to a halt.
Perhaps the people of Guyana have become apathetic about anything that pertains to development; perhaps the media have lost interest in the project because it is moving at a snail’s pace. But the government has a right to give the nation a report card. It is spending the people’s money.
We do know that for nearly a year, reporters were promised a tour of the road project. That promise is still to be fulfilled. Perhaps the media would still be given a tour and an explanation. But the nation needs to be kept abreast of the loan agreement. They have already been given one project cost.

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Is the hydro project on hold?

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