3 mins ago
By Johann Earle Last evening’s rejection of a bill and debt motion by the opposition has been described by the government as the “funeral” of the ambitious US$840M Amaila Falls Hydropower Project .
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Opposition votes down hydro-power bill
Leaders from the three parties huddle and try for a compromise during an extended break.
2 hours ago
By Johann Earle Last evening’s rejection of a bill and debt motion by the opposition has been described by the government as the “funeral” of the ambitious US$840M Amaila Falls Hydropower Project .
Great News! 
what is Guyana without lil blackout?
Great News!
what is Guyana without lil blackout?
# CorruPPPt 2013-07-19 03:25
Parliament pull the Fuse on Ramotar & Jagdeo
President Donald Ramotar
http://www.guyanatimesgy.com/?cat=15
The PPP is to blame as they were high handed when they had the majority in parliament. Now the opposition is socking it to them. One good thing that comes out of the opposition in majority is that projects will come under greater scrutiny.
The PPP is to blame as they were high handed when they had the majority in parliament. Now the opposition is socking it to them. One good thing that comes out of the opposition in majority is that projects will come under greater scrutiny.
Jagdeo & Ramotar believe they can keep throwing their Hydro-Seed Godey around and hide the truth from the nation.
They are today finding out....
"De Black PNC House of Isreal Thugs .....
who Jagdeo put in the office of the President....
and those Ramotar put in Freedom House.....
are Just A Big Godey Walla they are Carring around....
And...Now.... Big_Seed is correct.....
Lamumba, Kwame, Kit Nascimento, Bynoe, Hamilton, McClean ......
is the Godey that was weighing the PNC Down......
Today......Jagdeo & Ramotar now walking around....
Strapped with.... the PNC Godey Walla...
This is no dark day. The opposition saved us. Thanks to the opposition. They can't get Hope Canal right. They have cost overruns there. They could not build the access road. They give their friend Motilall to make the canal. He messed it up. How much cost overrun must the Guyanese people bear? The project is almost 900 mill usd.
JB you are Correct.....
The Parliamentary Majority....saved us from the Minority Govt Thiefing Scheme
No doubt, the Amails Falls hydro-electric project could benefit Guyanese householders and businesses immensely.
The PPP/C government has no one but itself to blame for this fiasco. Arrogance, deceit, corruption, nepotism, favoritism, etc. on the part of PPP decision-makers are nauseating the general populace.
Through their elected representatives in parliament, 51 per cent of the electorate have voted against Amaila, expressing no-confidence in the integrity of the hydro project and saying enough is enough.
It's high time PPP politicos take stock of their deeds and resolve to humble themselves and mend their ways.
If they don't learn a lesson from this significant parliamentary defeat they don't deserve to continue governing the country. And the voters will deal with them accordingly next general elections.
The PPP is to blame as they were high handed when they had the majority in parliament. Now the opposition is socking it to them. One good thing that comes out of the opposition in majority is that projects will come under greater scrutiny.
Who stole Goadee Walla handle?
All in the name of Transparency and Accountability. 
This is no dark day. The opposition saved us. Thanks to the opposition. They can't get Hope Canal right. They have cost overruns there. They could not build the access road. They give their friend Motilall to make the canal. He messed it up. How much cost overrun must the Guyanese people bear? The project is almost 900 mill usd.
JB, Welcome. I agree with you. Hope the PPP arogant dictators learn from this defeat.
January 23, 2013
Vietnam and Cambodia have finally found their voice. After months of obfuscating their position on the Lao government’s insistence on constructing the Xayaburi Dam and blocking the main stream of the Mekong River, leaders from both countries have pushed diplomatic niceties to the side and finally tackled Vientiane on the issue.
The refreshing shift in political tact came on the final day of a meeting among member countries in the Mekong River Commission (MRC), in which leaders from Vientiane could have been forgiven for thinking they had perhaps outfoxed their counterparts in Hanoi and Phnom Penh.
Laos reached an agreement with Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand more than a year ago to suspend construction of the U.S.$3.5 billion dam while independent studies were to be made on fish migration patterns and the possible threat posed by the dam to food security.
About 60 million people depend on the Mekong River for their livelihoods through a hand to mouth existence.
However, Vientiane ignored what amounted to a moratorium, Thai construction companies went to work immediately at the site and plans for further dams were released. Meanwhile, the Lao government insisted its citizens will prosper through the sale of electricity to neighboring countries produced by hydropower.
At last week’s MRC meeting, Cambodia demanded that all construction be immediately halted and argued that Laos had misinterpreted previous agreements. Meanwhile, Vietnam insisted that no dams be constructed until an agreed upon independent study is completed.
Lao Vice Minister of Energy and Mines Viraphonh Viravong attempted to defend his country’s stance, which seems to have the support of Thai construction companies, Chinese lenders and Lao politicians, but few others further afield.
Thai general contracting and infrastructure development group Ch Karnchang — through its 50 percent-owned subsidiary Xayaburi Power Co — has a 29-year concession to operate the dam's 1,285 megawatt power plant, as well as assurances from Thailand that it will purchase about 95 percent of the electricity generated.
Cambodia and Vietnam are demanding a regional consensus before construction can start.
However, both countries have said little over recent months despite a steady flow of independent reports from Laos and comments made by Lao ministers indicating that the Lao government was proceeding with construction of the dam. In fact, building at the site began in November 2011.
Laos has faced unprecedented international scrutiny over the past year, initially with the Xayaburi Dam, then with its massive borrowing program primarily with China to fund an ambitious infrastructure program. Most recently, the country has come under scrutiny following last month’s disappearance of human rights activist Sombath Samphone.
Was there an environmental impact assessment done for the Amelia falls project?
How can Jagdeo, the champion of the earth support a project that will have negative impact on the climate at a tremendous cost to Guyanese?
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As the Mekong River flows through the mountainous province of Xayaboury in northern Laos, it becomes the spawning grounds of migratory fish species that feed millions of people along the entire length of the river. Along the riverbanks, villagers grow fruits and vegetables and pan for gold. In Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, the Mekong River provides food security, livelihoods, and cultural identity.
However, this way of life is now threatened. In 2010, the Lao and Thai governments began building the massive 1,285 megawatt Xayaburi Dam on the Mekong River. The project is being built by Ch. Karnchang, one of Thailand’s largest construction companies. It is being financed by six Thai commercial banks, including the state-owned Krung Thai Bank. Thailand’s electricity utility, EGAT, has agreed to purchase 95% of the dam’s electricity. Energy experts in Thailand have concluded that Thailand does not need the dam’s electricity to meet its growing energy demand. However, the dam is expected to bring enormous profits to these companies and the Lao government.
The costs of the Xayaburi Dam will be borne by the millions of people who live along the Mekong River, including in Laos and Thailand. Scientists expect that the dam will block critical fish migration routes for between 23 to 100 species, including the iconic Mekong Giant Catfish. The dam would also destroy the river’s complex ecosystems that serve as important fish habitats. It would block the flow of sediments and nutrients, affecting agriculture as far downstream as the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. The Lao government will resettle at least 2,100 people, and 202,000 people living near the dam site will be directly affected. Even in the early stages of construction, many of these people already face threats to their food security.
The Xayaburi Dam also sets a dangerous precedent for dam-building along the Mekong River. Eleven dams are proposed for the Lower Mekong River, nine of them in Laos. According to a Strategic Environmental Assessment published by the Mekong River Commission in 2010, these dams would together affect millions of people living across the river basin.
Neighboring governments are concerned. According to a 1995 treaty, the four governments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam are required to seek agreement before building any of the Mekong dams. The process is called “prior consultation” and facilitated by the Mekong River Commission. However, such agreement was never sought for the Xayaburi Dam. Despite requests from Cambodia and Vietnam, Laos and Thailand even refused to study the dam’s transboundary impacts before beginning construction. The project’s current environmental impact assessment only examines impacts 10 kilometers downstream from the dam site. Laos’ engineer for the project, the Pöyry company of Finland, also claims that it can rely on unproven technologies to mitigate any harm the dam might cause. The full extent of the dam’s impacts remains unknown.
Construction activities began in late 2010, but Laos called these activities “preliminary work” for several years and even claimed at times that construction was delayed. On 7 November, 2012, Laos and Thailand held an official groundbreaking ceremony after claiming that Cambodia and Vietnam now support the project. At the MRC's Council meeting in January 2013, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the MRC’s donor governments all continued to raise concerns about the project. According to the current construction schedule, the project's coffer dam will be completed by May 2013.
Together with our partners the Thai People’s Network for the Mekong and the Save the Mekong Coalition, International Rivers is calling on regional governments to seek better energy solutions to protect the Mekong River, which is a lifeline for millions in the region.
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