Government lobbies opposition support for Amaila Project

Jul 15, 2013 News

* APNU says it is still to inspect and decide
* AFC to await green light from IDB

By Abena Rockcliffe

Finance Minister, Ashni Singh

Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh has called for unanimous support in Parliament for two pieces of legislation that will directly affect the Amaila Falls Hydro Project.
According to Singh, lack of “timely” Parliamentary support, will most likely threaten progress as critical deadlines are looming and expiration dates on certain commitments expire this year.
The two legislations to be debated that are being dubbed critical for the progress of the Amaila Falls project are a motion to increase the debt ceiling and Amendments to the Hydro Electric Act.
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has noted that it has to carefully inspect the pieces of legislations. Therefore, no definite decision has been made yet on whether or not support will be given on Thursday.
On the other hand, “Absolutely not,” is what the Alliance for Change (AFC) is saying as it stands by its position not to support any legislation linked to the Amaila Falls project until it is given the green light from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB.)
Leader of the AFC Khemraj Ramjattan told Kaieteur News yesterday that his party will not budge from the decision made to await the IDB’s approval.
He said that the due diligence study undertaken by the bank will be completed by the end of October and then and only then will AFC either support or withhold its support from the Amaila Falls project depending on what is reflected in the report. “If IDB gives the reorganization we will piggy back on that.”
That report will include an economic feasibility study, an environmental study, one that will project if the country will be able to manage.
Ramjattan said that in the absence of that document, he does not see the importance in “changing laws and all of that.”
The Attorney at law told Kaieteur News that the Finance Minister, with all his persuasion techniques, should try influencing the President to implement the Procurement Commission, which he noted is ordered by the law.
That was a sentiment also shared by APNU’s Joseph Harmon who also noted that the Finance Minister should urge the President to assent to the Bills he rejected and adhere to the “reasonable” demands made by the APNU, including the call for the Procurement Commission.
Harmon had also noted that the APNU is not too enthused with regards to the way the Government is seeking to “amend the amended over and over again.”
He pointed out that, at the last sitting of the National Assembly, the Government opted not to proceed with the Amendments.
Harmon said that he has heard that further Amendments have been made. “So with all these things happening, we have to be really careful on how we are moving ahead.” He said that APNU knows not whether or not it will support but is prepared to fine tune the Amendments.
Dr. Singh had indicated that government over the last few weeks has maintained a close engagement with the Opposition, particularly APNU. A multitude of critical documents have been shared on a confidential basis.
It was said that despite repeated invitations, the AFC has declined Government’s overtures on the Amaila project. However, last Thursday, a group of AFC members engaged the GPL Board and management on matters relating to GPL and Amaila Falls.
Singh also noted that decisions on the matters at the upcoming Parliament meeting are critical to ensuring that the IDB timetable for the Board’s consideration of the transaction is achieved. Government officials have indicated that key documents pertaining to the environmental studies of the project have been published on the Bank’s website in keeping with the mandatory 120-day Pelosi requirement before being voted on by the US chair on the board.
This requirement satisfies one of the key conditional ties for the project to be voted on by the Bank’s Board of Directors at the end of October.
Kaieteur News understands that government has engaged key stakeholders including the opposition during key points of the project’s development. In early last year, Sithe Global made presentations to the media, private sector groups, and opposition parties.
Various meetings were also convened at the Office of the President for presentation to the opposition in March 2012, March 2013 and most recently, in June of this year.

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