WHILE the specific design of the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP) has been described as “dead”, interest has been expressed by multilateral and bilateral sources in redesigning a project which would utilise Guyana’s hydropower potential at Amaila Falls.

During his usual post-Cabinet media briefing, Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon said that it is no secret who these “sources” are, although he hesitated to disclose that information at this time.
“That must be taken in the context of the intransigence of the opposition, an intransigence that reveals itself in their resort to explanations and excuses for their dastardly act in destroying this initiative...” he stated.

According to Luncheon, the sentiments at the level of the administration are that the resuscitation of the AFHP is most unlikely.
However, he said that until the utmost finality of the project is laid to rest, the expressions of interest from those sources would be understood to be conditional.
Luncheon further related that more stakeholders in the current design of the AFHP have indicated their withdrawal. 

“For all intents and purposes, that project with the specific design is dead. Whatever small windows of opportunity that were mooted to exist appear less and less likely to be available to the stakeholders to resuscitate the project with its current design,” he stated.
However, Luncheon emphasised that renewable energy and its use in Guyana is not dead, an observation and commitment that has been made and reemphasised by President Donald Ramotar and members of the Cabinet.

He added that Amaila itself will not be allowed to succumb to the opposition’s machinations. 
Asked if there are any plans to engage the opposition parties in the redesigning of the hydropower project, Luncheon stated that further engagements to resuscitate the project is “a useless proposition.”

“We can’t help but feel that way, and that view is solidified by the very utterances about the project and their resort to apologists in the media to, in essence, hoodwink Guyanese people...making them believe that the course of action they undertook that cost us so dearly, the loss of this project, that it was easily explained, it was eminently justifiable,” he lamented.

He further stated that this is a sentiment shared not only by the administration and Cabinet, but by all stakeholders who have also sought audience with the same opposition on the project.
Luncheon was asked by a member of the media to respond to statements by Leader of the main opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Mr. David Granger, who has said that APNU is not to be blamed for the death of the project. However, the HPS said that he does not believe that it was worthy of a response. 
Nevertheless, he said Granger seems to be “stretching the imagination, the credibility of the Guyanese people.”

“We know who killed this project and we know how they did it...and I suppose he can continue protesting his and APNU’s innocence, but he is merely flying in the face of the wind as he tries to extricate himself and his party and the opposition from being responsible for this outcome,” Luncheon said.