| The Alliance For Change (AFC) will not be signing off any ‘blank cheque’ to the Guyana Government that would allow it to incur/guarantee debt of up to US$750M (G$150B) for any public corporation. The party will instead be looking to limit the debt ceiling sought by Government, to that which will only take care of the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL)’s repayment commitments to Sithe Global, for power purchased from the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Plant.Annual payments for power coming from the Amaila Falls ProjectAFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan (left) and party Vice Chair, Moses Nagamootoo addressing media operatives.are expected to be between US$110 to US$120M annually,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, and according to party leader Khemraj Ramjattan, the only guarantee that the developer, Sithe Global wants, is for Government to foot the bill of any shortfall in payments by GPL, annually.Ramjattan along with Chairman Nigel Hughes, Vice Chairman Moses Nagamootoo and Executive Member Cathy Hughes,Cheap Adidas Hockey Jerseys, met with media operatives yesterday and announced the intention to amend the government motion.Ramjattan indicated further that in increasing the debt ceiling, the party wants to have the guarantee isolated to only GPL, rather than any other public corporation.He said that while the party has not definitively finalised its position, at this stage “we have gone through the Hydro Electric (Amendment) Bill as proffered a couple of days ago and we are very satisfied,Cheap Jerseys Store, collectively,Wholesale MLB Jerseys, and we have indicated that we are supportive of that Bill.”This proposed amendment speaks to conservation matters, according to Ramjattan.He indicated that the AFC, along with members of Government and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), met with the Sithe Global and the Blackstone Group’s Executives.According to Ramjattan, the party is still in the process of deliberating over the answers provided by the officials.“In relation to the matter of the guarantee, however, we still feel that there is still too sweeping a motion that states that all public corporations can borrow to the extent of $150B from $1B which it used to be.”Ramjattan says that based on the answers provided by Sithe Global, the raising of the debt ceiling being sought by Government and the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project, are not interlinked.“Sithe (Global) has indicated to us, when we asked the question that they would like to have as a guarantee, the shortfall of payments for any year….So assuming GPL does not pay the price for electricity delivered to GPL in any one year that balance that is left unpaid is what they would like government to guarantee.”Ramjattan said that despite the significant losses currently accrued by GPL, it still manages to rake in at least US$120M from the consumers, “so we feel that it will be in a position to pay Amaila Falls (Hydro Power Inc) for the electricity that it will buy from them…We could understand their position.”The AFC leader said that this cannot now mean that GPL will have to go borrowing US$150B,Cheap Jerseys China, “that is too much and we have a huge concern there.”Ramjattan said too that what the party is also looking to extract from government, as part of the agreement, is support for four pieces of legislation that would pave the way for the holding of local government elections.He said that the AFC would want the local government bills approved on the same day that the Hydro Electric (Amendment) Bill as well as the motion to increase the debt ceiling for public corporations, are brought forward.That debate has been scheduled to take place on Wednesday.Vice Chairman Nagamootoo in his presentation began by expressing gratitude for the body of information that has been provided by the various personalities that have weighed in on the project, including Professor Clive Thomas, Ramon Gaskin, Anand Goolsarran and Christopher Ram, among others.“We have now come to an understanding of a project that hitherto had been a secret. The way it has been conceptualised; the initial transactions relating to the hydro project were treated almost like a state secret.”Speaking to the amendment being sought by government on the raising of the debt ceiling, Nagamootoo called it, “very deceptive.” He said that a perusal of the Principal Act would illustrate, “this is an act to provide for guarantee by the Government of Guyana of loans to public corporations and companies in which the government has a controlling interest and to authorise the government to give undertakings to sources of financing under which sums payable by government shall become chargeable on the consolidated fund”.Nagamootoo, an Attorney-at-Law, said that among the aspects of the deception was when the opposition was asked to guarantee the liabilities on public corporations and companies.“Well it could be NICIL if they run afoul with the Marriott, it could be GuySuCo, if they can’t fix Skeldon and get the modernisation on stream…it could be any (public) company or any corporation.”He said that the move by government to up the debt ceiling to $150B, “is government asking us to give them a blank cheque…a signed blank cheque to incur debt to the amount of $150B.”Nagamootoo said that there is no doubt as to the motive, which is that government is looking to bail out “all the troubled corporations and companies or encourage them to incur debt, because they don’t want to come to the Parliament for Parliament to approve the bailouts.”He said that by increasing the debt ceiling to $150B,Billy Price Jersey, the Government was looking to subvert legislative process“Ultimately these debts, if incurred, will have to be borne by the taxpayers, by the people of this country,” Nagamootoo said.“We have to be careful that we don’t give a carte blanche to this government to guarantee loans or debts for public corporations that does not have a cap or is not confined to a particular institution.” |
