How hath the mighty fallen

Apr 18, 2010 Features / Columnists, My Column

---

By Adam Harris

I recall that one day I was listening to a programme about a prominent person who had fallen on hard times. The quotation that followed that event was “How hath the mighty fallen.”
Since then there have been many occasions for people to repeat this quotation. There was the Bernard Madoff multi-billion-dollar fraud that has landed him in jail for the rest of his natural life. But during the time he was fraudulently he was leading the high life. He was indeed mighty.
Then in our corner of the world, there was Allen Stanford. He too led the good life, inviting people from around the world to his paradise. He had the winning Superbowl quarterback, some of the world’s dignitaries and some of the best sportsmen around. He feted them and basked in the glory.
He is in jail and I am tempted to repeat, “How hath the mighty fallen.”
Eight years ago I was invited to a forum that has led to the development once more of a drive to develop hydroelectricity in Guyana. This meeting took place in the office of Prime Minister Sam Hinds.
The talk was about this group called Synergy Holdings taming the Amaila Falls and producing the kind of electricity that Guyana needs. More than thirty years earlier Forbes Burnham had capitalized on the windfall from rice and sugar to attempt to develop Guyana’s hydroelectric potential. This time the falls were the Kumerau Falls, again in the Mazaruni.
The road to the hydro project was being constructed and it was almost a foregone conclusion that Guyana would have cheap electricity. However, Venezuela put paid to that. It objected to the project contending that Guyana was establishing a hydroelectric potential in a disputed area.
The international funding agencies opted to withhold the funding; millions of dollars already put into the project went down the drain. Some Guyanese, for political reasons, smiled but Guyana lost. The cost of the project back in 1974 was put at $70 million.
So thirty years later there was another drive to develop hydroelectricity. The government had changed but the end result remained—cheap power and less dependence on fossil fuel.
Back in 1974 there was no talk about global warming and Guyana was not getting any windfall for its standing forests. The money had to come through the Treasury.
In comes Makeshwar ‘Fip’ Motilall. He tells Prime Minister Hinds and the Guyana Government that he was going to construct Guyana’s hydroelectric plant. The cost would be high but Guyana needed not worry because he was going to raise money. The only guarantee he wanted was that Guyana would pay for the power he produces. He was guaranteeing 100 megawatts.
Spirits soared but as the start-up date approached the news filtered in that Motilall was having problems raising the money.
This week I learnt for the first time although I have been told that this announcement was made years earlier. Sithe Global is now the entity to construct the hydroelectricity facility. It is reportedly experienced and is responsible for the construction of scores of hydroelectric facilities around the world.
This being the case, there is the question, “What has this got to do with the fall of the mighty?”
Guyana’s hydro facility needs roads leading to the site. This task has been entrusted to ‘Fip’ Motilall. How could a man who had planned to build the hydro facility now be reduced to a contractor to build the road leading to the site?
I can understand his decision to switch. A man has got to live. His must be the policy of aiming for the stars and settling for the moon. Rather than raising money to build the hydro facility he is taking money to build the roads. He submitted the lowest bid, even lower than the engineer’s estimate.
This tells me something. He must be skilled to come in so cheap and still make a profit. Indeed, Guyana has a policy of adjusting bids. Perhaps this may have to be done for ‘Fip’ Motilall.
Does he have money in the event of a shortfall? I don’t think so. Perhaps good business sense prevailed and he is using other people’s money. The bond—all of US$3 million—has been posted by Hand-in-Hand.
What worries me is the secrecy that surrounds so many things in Guyana. The authorities would insist that whatever is done is done transparently. This may be true and it may be a case of reporters ignoring the obvious. I am not known to ignore anything, no matter how mundane. That I missed the move from Synergy Holdings to Sithe Global suggests that I have been sleeping for far too long.
I am checking the records to see when this announcement was made and I cannot find any. Perhaps the government did it through its information arms thus the message got lost.
What I do know is that I am happy that hydroelectricity is coming to Guyana. Surely this must happen in my lifetime. The idea of cheap power is making my mouth water. That is aided by the fact that the manufacturing industry is going to be boosted to levels unimagined.
I was once able to enjoy hydro power at Tumatumari where the Government had a Youth Corps centre. The lights were on all day and no one in the community paid anything. Radios blared and freezers ran incessantly.
I could use the money that I would save. If ‘Fip’ Motilall does a good job on the roads I would be happy. He has a few months to complete his project. He stands between me and cheap power at this time.

---

---