Opposition’s small mindedness inhibiting Guyana’s development and expansion- Ali

WHILE Guyana has grown tremendously in the last eight years, there is still a lot more that could have been done if Guyana as a country, and the Parliament as a unit, had understood the importance of various transformational projects and had allowed those projects to blossom and bring economic empowerment, improvement and opportunities to the Guyanese people. This was the view expressed on Thursday by Minister of Housing and Water, Irfaan Ali on the National Communications Network programme, “Political Scope.”
Speaking of the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP), which was delayed due to the Opposition’s non-support, Ali pointed out that the implementation of this project will accumulatively add 6 percent to Guyana’s Gross

Domestic Product (GDP). The minister said that in the construction phase alone, implementing this transformational project would have seen the country growing above 5 percent in the next five years. Without the project, the country is instead set to experience a “flat growth curve” at 4 percent, “so we will be denying our people in the medium-term of 1 percent in terms of growth per year,” the Housing Minister explained.

Inhibiting factor
That project would allow for cheaper electricity rates which would permit Guyana to compete with major countries in the manufacturing sector such as India, Russia, China, United States and Canada for jobs. Comparing the annual average electricity prices in these countries as against Guyana, the minister highlighted the fact that most of them produce electricity at US 10 cents at the most, whilst Guyana is at present producing above 35 cents per kilowatt/hour.
“If you look at countries who compete in the manufacturing sector, who we have to compete with to bring manufacturing jobs to Guyana, look at India, Russia, Canada, the US, they are  far below…we cannot compete. There is no way we can compete and bring the large companies, the Chinese investors who have lots of money to spend, the US investors, the Canadian investors, Indian investors. It makes it non-competitive for them to come here because of this single inhibiting factor—the cost of electricity,” he said.
If the project is implemented, the cost will be less, the country will be able to attract more investors and jobs will be created, he noted. “…so when the Opposition talks about the creation of jobs, the creation of opportunity for our young people, they must understand that those opportunities can only be created if we have the right infrastructure, if we have the right investment platform, if we have the essential elements that would create new aspects of our economy, that would generate new jobs within our economy,” he said.
Ali said these are very important aspects of economic development that are missing, “because we are not bold enough, because the Opposition is too inhibited, because they are not mature enough to allow Guyana to mature into this stage of economic prosperity,” he continued.
With all the talk about generation of jobs and the future of the economy, he said people need to understand how important these transformational projects are to unfold that future.

Saving US$90M
The implementation of the AFHP would save consumers US$3.5B over 20 years.
Ali explained that this is US$3.5B additional resources that are in the consumers hand to motivate spending. “When you stimulate spending, you are stimulating transaction. When you stimulate transaction, you are stimulating businesses, so it is an entirely linked facility,” the minister noted.
The implementation of the project would also reduce the fuel import bill by almost 20 percent, saving the country close to US$90M. “Can you imagine what we can do with US$90M?” Ali asked.
“It would mean being able to take care of all our outstanding education needs in infrastructure. It could bring our health care system on par with any health care system in this Region. It could be used to improve access and improvement in the road network all over the country,” he answered.
The Amaila Falls project would also lead to reduction of electricity charges up to 40 percent. For a low income family with an electricity bill of $10,000 that would mean a saving of $4,000, the minister pointed out.
“That is $48,000 per year or $480,000 in ten years,” he noted.
The implementation of the Amaila Falls project would also allow for 100 percent electricity generation by renewable resources, which is where the future is heading. “In the future, having green energy is going to be part of a company’s competitive advantage in advancing its investment portfolio,” he noted.  He pointed out that this is the aim of all Government’s transformation projects, improving the economy and advancing the country.
The minister touched too on the Marriott Hotel, which has evoked criticisms about its potential and what benefits it will bring to Guyanese. He noted that in addition to what this would mean for the tourism sector in driving traffic into Guyana, it would also mean employment for many.
The Marriott has 197 rooms. Ali explained that according to international standards in relation to the employment, there must be four persons per room. That would mean that 780 direct jobs will be created by the Marriott when it is fully operational, the Minister said. “How can this be a bad investment for Guyana, when it would generate 780 new jobs, how can this be something that the Opposition does not find favour with?” the minister said.
In addition to the 780 direct jobs, the hotel would also create 1,000 indirect jobs in terms of suppliers and out-sourcing facility, the minister explained. This calculates to just about 1,800 jobs, and if each of those employees is from a family of four, then it calculates to 7,200 persons benefiting as result of Marriott employment opportunity.
The minister noted that these are some projects that have been disallowed and criticised by the Opposition without any economic and social justification. He pointed out that this type of small mindedness, in relation to the development and expansion of Guyana, cannot move the country forward.