This is Guyana

Hats off to Stabroek News for this article.

Many of the shires (counties) in the UK have web portals which begin with the words ‘This is,’ and what they do is provide a wealth of information on the area. For instance, a visitor to Leicestershire would find on its ‘This is’ page, historical information, where to find what, news, links to jobs, real estate, pubs, almost everything anyone might need to know. Perhaps this may have caught on in other places in some other parts of the world. Not in Guyana, though. Here, ‘This is Guyana’ is a sentence that brings with it connotations of everything that could possibly be wrong.

For example, if one found oneself waiting at 10:00 hrs for a scheduled 09:00 hrs event to begin, the reason that would be given is that this is Guyana. It is used almost wholesale to explain practically every flawed eventuality: blackouts, corruption, nepotism, unsolved crimes, water shortages, injustice – the list can go on and on. But it’s a useless tally really, since no true Guyanese would like to see any of this on a web portal introducing Guyana to the rest of the world.

Just this last Monday, President Bharrat Jagdeo, as he launched what was called the third draft of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy, shed some light on the “Guyana way of doing things.” He intimated that though there had been no consensus in Copenhagen last December, Guyana was not prepared to turn away from playing a role in combatting climate change. He held out the hope that his imminent trip to Norway would bear fruit to the tune of millions of US$ to be spent over the next few years on climate change initiatives, one of which was the Amaila Falls hydropower project.

This hydroelectric project, which the President said would cost some US$450 million will, the ‘This is Guyana’ invocation notwithstanding, be ready for commercial operation by October 2014. Hardly believable it is, that Guyana will have commercial quantities of green energy in the next four years – all things being equal that is. One question that is yet to be completely and comprehensively answered is whether this hydropower will be available throughout the entire country.

In the meantime, while we await this progressive step we must continue to endure the blackouts and the high and low voltages still being supplied. We must still resign ourselves to using candles, flambeaux and kerosene lamps, especially the poor families who cannot afford the high electricity rates, or those who live in unelectrified communities, or the residents of Berbice, where periods of outage currently exceed periods of power supply.

Obviously, no one needs any alternative form of energy. Who cares if Food For The Poor in collaboration with the Roetheli family of the USA successfully built 100 houses in the Lil Red Village and supplied each one with solar power? What does it matter if smaller hydropower projects might be more feasible? After all, it’s just another four years then all will be well.

Meanwhile, we must unquestioningly swallow the drivel being fed to us by smarmy politicians; like the “one laptop computer per family” statement, dished out last week by Minister of Education Shaik Baksh, who said government is working out the modalities and costing for this initiative. Surely this cannot precede the completion of the great hydroelectric project. For while we are not all tech savvy, certainly everyone must know that laptops carry batteries which must be charged and that this cannot be done with candles, flambeaux or kerosene. And unless there are also plans to have Wi-Fi throughout the country, there will be need for other infrastructure to allow the laptops to access the World Wide Web. But why worry, this must have all been thought through. It just was not conveyed to the rest of us. After all, this is Guyana; this is the Guyana way of doing things.

More to it than meets the eye. Deals and Deals!

When will the Integrity Commission lets it independence guide it to drag the Head of Staff with his ‘assets’ before it?

A President who merely makes less than a half a million dollars a month on his day job is busy tying and knotting deals with his cronies and friends that his expected to full his pockets at some time or another.

We know that he got himself a little of the Guyana Times pie as Guyana Times TV Plan to set up a Berbice operation. A new office space is being built.

We know that he has cut himself several sweet deals and owns properties in and out of Guyana. He is negotiating another sweet deal with Russian Powers and would see a fibre optic cable coming from Brazil. This man would be making more money!!!

We were also informed of this connection to the Russian owned Rusal. Connection we say but hidden in that, word is director of the Bauxite Company.

Now as the story about Rusal’s involvement in a hydro power plant breaks we wonder about that else is not visible to the eye.

Stabroek News of Wednesday May 19 has an interesting and though provoking story. It says that a letter between a Gianfranco Miceli of Business Development of a Brazilian Company, Andrade Gutierrez and RUSAL’s General manager Alexex Gordymov talking about building a hydro power plant in the Middle Mazaruni. This isn’t the only revelation. According to SN who we will quote their article says that there are talks about two consortiums involving RUSAL, GUYANA GOVERNMENT and Brazilian owned ELECTROBRAS.

In fact, the Brazilian Company said that it is ready to go ahead.
This is despite no announcement by the government, no reports of Environment Impact Assessment and oh wait, No tendering.

There must be a Memorandum of Understanding somewhere around.

There are some pieces of the puzzle as put together by Stabroek News.

“In the letter dated May 14, which was seen by this newspaper, Gordymov told Miceli that he hoped that their meeting in Miami in March this year was productive and at least the parties could exchange their intentions and recognise how they could move the project forward. He recalled that despite efforts they could not find any amicable solution at the time. He recalled that during the March meeting it was understood that one of the crucial points for Miceli was to get Electrobras to be part of a consortium. He mentioned the building of a smelter. After numerous internal reviews and discussions, they would like to continue dialogue on the main principals, Gordymov said.

He outlined six points. According to the letter, Consortium A would be created with three main stakeholders: Electrobras, the Government of Guyana and Rusal. “This consortium would be responsible for developing the Hydropower Plant and distribution of energy”, Gordymov wrote. He said the consortium would build a 3000MW hydropower plant which would be done in three phases.

He said that the first 1000MW would be sold to Brazil “beside what is energy required by Guyana” and the second 1000MW “(probably less)” would go to the smelter. The third 1000MW would be sold to Brazil, he said.

He outlined Consortium B – which would be created between the government of Guyana and RUSAL for the construction of an aluminum smelter. “RUSAL would control the consortium”.

According to the letter, Consortium B has a right to declare an option to use energy in the second phase of up to 1000MW “in case smelting capacity will be built before commissioning 2nd phase”. Such an option has to be declared no later than six months after the commissioning of the first phase, Gordymov outlined. He said that if this option is not declared by Consortium B within that time then Consortium A has a right to use the energy of the second phase at its own discretion. In this case, the third phase will be developed by Consortium A when Consortium B decides that the smelter is needed, according to Gordymov.

He said that the Consortiums will enter into a written agreement where Consortium A will guarantee to supply power to Consor-tium B in the requested amount for smelting but no more than 1000MW at a cost basis price.

“We will appreciate your feedback on this message and would like to point (out) that we are ready to develop further this project in case you accept (the) above main terms”, Gordymov wrote. He added that any final deal is subject to contract. “

We say there is no way this could have even past our dear President’s ears.

Do we need an ambassador to China?

We believe that it is the most idiotic move in the history of this Country’s Foreign Relations and we have written about it: The PPP have failed or should we say refused to appoint an ambassador to one of the largest and growing economies in the world, China.

And we are already facing the consequences.

Guyana is still struggling to finance its Alternative Energy Programme, we have seen the failure of the Hope Wind Farm, well it was never conceived and we are looking on as the government prematurely tries to defend move to restart the Amelia Hydro Project with wacko Fip.

But lets look at what has been going on this same Region for this year.

China and Venezuela signed a series of agreements just last month! To do what?!

Well Venezuela is moving to exploit its Orinoco’s reserves belt for oil and is looking to develop it Hydro Electricity capacity!

China is now providing our neighbor with more that US$20 billion for its Energy Sector.

Such a shame we were not able to cash in on that, but we are guessing that Mr. President who is also our Finance Minister missed that one juggling so many portfolios and projects!

Here is a little hint PPP, Bilateral Trade between China and Venezuela has netted more than US$7 Billion for our neighbor!

But maybe he will take a hint as his government and the rest of Caricom plans to face off with Brazil next week, don’t waste any more time!