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City Hall still without electricity

Dec 25, 2009 News

Failure on the part of the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) to restore the supply of electricity to City Hall was regarded as “as a little bit of deception” by City Mayor Hamilton Green, yesterday.
According to Mayor Green, he was of the understanding that once GPL and the municipality had exchanged cheques the municipality should have forthwith been restored at city Hall. He related that based on information from Acting Town Clerk, Mrs Yonette Pluck-Cort, GPL has now informed that the restoration decision must be made by the power company’s Board, a situation which is yet to be addressed.
Green expressed concern that City Hall has remained the sole municipal entity GPL has chosen to leave without electricity even as he noted that streetlights have in fact accounted for the bulk of the municipality’s debt.
And though it was agreed by the two entities that a cordial relationship will ensue following the exchange of cheques last Tuesday, Green is adamant that things have changed for the worse.
“It seems that somebody is out to punish City Hall.” In fact it is the Mayor’s belief that the whole move comes as part of Government’s unwillingness to allow the municipality to broaden its revenue base and be in a position to function as a responsible and respectable entity.
According to Green the treatment that is being meted out to the municipality “defies all the rules of democracy.”
He alluded to the municipality’s recent attempt to convert the Le Repentir Dump site to a facility that could also produce electricity. Green disclosed that discussions were had with a potential developer and all of the modalities were examined. The discussions were however brought to an abrupt end as it was highlighted by the powers that be that the municipality was in no position to undertake such a venture.
“The idea was to provide electricity to the GPL grid which could provide power to people nearby…but everybody is being so deceptive, it is doing more harm than good to the municipality.”
With the exchange of cheques each valued at more than $179M, the near three-week long controversy between the municipality and GPL was expected to have been put to a final rest.
Before Justice Prem Persaud, who had taken up the task to intervene in the controversy, the municipal Budget Manager, Ms Monica Irving, and GPL Senior Divisional Director, Mr Aeshwar Deonarine, had exchanged cheques valued at $179,496,876. The representatives of the two entities were accompanied to the bank by the PUC Financial Analyst, Mr Murselene Sankar whose task was to verify that both cheques were honoured by the bank.
And since the interest owed by both parties have been waived, the cheque presented by GPL was sufficient to discharge the amount owed by the power company for rates and taxes up to and including 2009.
GPL, according to Justice Persaud, has accepted a debt of $116,891,749 together with $62, 605,127 representing the Guyana Electricity Corporation’s obligation to the municipality.
He asserted that the amount honoured by GPL does not include rates for the property at Kingston, Georgetown, on which it has built its 20.7 megawatt power plant. However it was agreed that the municipality will in due course invoice GPL for the property which was acquired this year.
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that the M&CC’s cheque will partially discharge its obligation for electricity service charges owing as at December 2009. In addition the municipality is yet to finalise a payment plan which may require the attention of the GPL’s board before a reconnection decision is made.

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