Georgetown, Guyana.
April 21, 2022
For immediate release to all media houses.
PRESS RELEASE
Alliance For Change statement from press conference
Link to video recording
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12lHC6J3UDchYHqh1Alk42GIwwMcYgIVw/view?usp=share_link
Gail Teixeira must be condemned for disparaging Transparency International- Khemraj Ramjattan MP
At the 9th Annual Conference of Commonwealth Caribbean Association of Integrity Commissions and Anti-Corruption Bodies, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Texeira, sought to disparage and mock Transparency International (TI) for situating Guyana and other Caricom countries as seriously corrupt in that body’s Corruption Perceptions Index.
The AFC views this reprehensible attack on a foremost authority on corruption perceptions as more evidence of an elective despotism emanating out of the PPP Government.
Ever since the rise of the Jagdeoite PPP, the political framing of critics and dissidents as the “enemy” has become routine. Instead of fairly evaluating and wisely addressing the message of these critics and dissidents, it is, with feral blasts, head-bashing the messengers.
Worse still in this particular instance is the attempt by Gail Texeira (and vicariously the PPP Government) to drag Caricom sister countries into this sordid project of denouncing Transparency International by playing the ignominious North /South card.
The corrupt and lawless leaders of this Government today want to strengthen their grip on power by foolishly picking political fights with local and international critics of their governance and accountability. Rather absurdly, they want to hurl abuse at reputable Western civil society organisations like EITI, TI and will soon attend to Amnesty International, and Reporters without Borders when their next Report on World Press Freedom will be out. Already the country has seen their witch-hunting of the Guyana Human Rights Association and IDPADA-G; and even ordinary critics like Anand Goolsarran.
The AFC warns that this assault on the free flow of information especially on matters concerning corruption and bad governance and which is a basic ingredient for democratic accountability, is a frightening development. Gail Teixeira’s attempt at disparagement of TI must therefore forthrightly be condemned.
Public Procurement Commission – David Patterson MP
On February 3, 2023 – I wrote that public procurement commission requesting that agency to conduct several investigations into Contracts awarded by the Government, some of which has engaged the public as well as the Auditor General, to date, no official acknowledgement of receipt of my complaints has been received.
Specifically, complaints were raised on the award of the following Contracts:
- Eight (8) Contracts awarded to V. Dalip Enterprise, by the Regional Democratic Council, Region #9, totaling G$106.8M, this Contractor was debarred by the Public Procurement Commission in November 2019 until December 2030. These awards were also flagged in the Auditor General’s report of 2021.
- A contract awarded to V. Dalip Enterprise for the Four lane Highway from Eccles to Great Diamond, by the Central Housing and Planning Authority, totaling G$890M, this Contractor as mentioned before was previously debarred by the PPC.
- A contract awarded to St8ment Investment Inc. for the construction of the Bamia/Amelia’s Ward Primary School by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, public records revealed that this company was established only eight (8) months prior to the award bringing into question if the company would have met the technical criteria as set out in NPTAB’s Standard Bidding Documents.
The PPC hosted a public day on April 18, 2023, I took the opportunity to attend, to get an update. I had the opportunity to engage with a Commissioner, CEO, Legal Head, Attorney, PR, and the Procurement Officer. Unfortunately, while acknowledging some knowledge of my complaints, I was informed that only the Chairperson would be able to provide an update.
I was astonished to learn that the Commission, is in the process of seeking the following legal advice:
- Establishment of the PPC
- Post 2022 examination
- Only Suppliers and Contractors can request investigation.
Gas to Shore Project
Last year, the Parliamentary Opposition tabled a Motion, requesting that further studies be conducted on the technical and financial feasibility of the proposed Wales gas to Shore project, this motion was rejected by the Government, we once again call for further independent studies to be conducted on this project.
On launching this project in April 2021, the Government provided their justifications for the urgent need for such a project, specifically referencing the economic and technical
benefits, as recently as last month, their initial projection used to justify this project has proven way off mark.
The initial project cost was listed as US$910M inclusive of the pipeline, gas and power plants and associated construction costs. This project now stands at US$2.2B and is increasing. No justification has been provided in less than two years; the cost has risen by almost 150%. In any normal functioning democracy, such a sharp increase in cost, over such a short period, would be of concern and trigger a full project review.
In April 2021, in justifying the urgent need for such a project, the government claimed that by 2026, the country’s energy demands, as the fastest growing economy in the world, would be 3000 GWh per annum, they warned that if the project was not completed, the country would be faced with insignificant generating capacity shortfall. The country’s projected energy demand has now been revised to 2000 GWh by 2026, an almost 50% reduction in projected demand. Having grossly overstated the projected power demand, to now make the Gas to Shore project financially viable, the government will be decommissioning all our existing generating power plants, units that over US$450M was expended in the last 10 years.
It is oblivious that the Wales Gas to Shore project was ill-conceived, based on incorrect data and inadequate studies, to continue without detail analysis will only result in a failed project at the expense of the taxpayers.
Guyana Power & Light (GPL)
Over the last three months, the country has been experiencing daily power outages, which indicates that GPL is experiencing severe technical challenges. This does not augur well for a country’s that boasts of being the fastest growing economy in the world.
The AFC holds the view that there is a need to take politics out of the operations of GPL and agree on what is best for this nation. Despite the statistics, our nation’s real development will continue to be negatively impacted if we do not improve the management of GPL. GPL needs better technical management and not political management.
Our citizens who live in the fastest growing economy deserve to have a dependable supply of electricity daily – this is not a privilege; it is a basic requirement.
END
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