JB ......will dem Crab Louse and @untymen

still cuss the AFC,

yuh think Kwame and De Pundit

still pun dem Honeymoon....

 will we hear from them now....

Look how nice Kwame look

Bhai De Pundit Lucky

Brassington embarrassed over Amaila revelations

…was unaware of Sithe Global repayment arrangement – Chris Ram

“Perhaps Brassington could tell the public whose debt it would be, if for any reason GPL is unable to meet its monthly payments to Sithe Global.”

Financial Analyst Christopher Ram has accused Guyana’s lead negotiator on the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project, Winston Brassington, of being embarrassed by the revelation of the amateurism he and his team displayed in negotiations with Sithe Global. Brassington on Wednesday last sought to respond to the assertions being made by Ram, by firstly lamenting that he (Ram) circulated confidential information.

Financial Analyst Christopher Ram

Ram says he is not surprised that Brassington took almost two weeks “to make up a response.” “I recall my own discomfort for him (Brassington) that on the critical issue of repayment of Sithe’s capital, he was unaware of what Sithe had inserted in the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and had to be corrected by one of his advisors,” Ram asserted. This publication reported during the past week that Government had agreed to pay Sithe Global interest on money already repaid. Ram had explained that the arrangement is akin to depositing $100,000 in a bank, withdrawing $90,000, but the bank continues to pay you interest for twenty years on the initial deposit of $100,000. Cheap Shots Brassington in his response to Ram on Wednesday last, had said the Financial Analyst agreed there would be no public debt as a result of Amaila. Ram retorted that this was among the many “cheap shots thrown at me by Brassington that can be easily dispatched”. Ram denied saying that he conceded no public debt and reminded that what he did in fact say was, “by going to the National Assembly, the Government acknowledged the debt implications of the project.” The financial analyst said that “perhaps Brassington could tell the public whose debt it would be, if for any reason GPL is unable to meet its monthly obligations under the PPA which Sithe (Global) was planning to impose and which he and his advisors meekly accepted.” Brassington had also indicated that Ram accepted the government’s view that with Amaila the subsidy paid to GPL would be eliminated. Ram says that the reason for this is simple, given that under the arrangement with Sithe Global any subsidies to the power company would have served as a breach of contract. This means that the power company would have to adjust its tariffs annually in order to make its payments and meet its expenditure, without any subsidy from government. “No Guyanese, let alone Ram, could have any opinion or option on subsidies post-Amaila: Brassington’s negotiation friends at Sithe (Global) put paid to that.” Padded Costs Ram said too that Brassington, the lead negotiator for Guyana on the Amaila project, seemed entirely unaware that Sithe Global or its Special Purpose Vehicle Company was going to be reimbursed for, or credited with seemingly padded costs and fees. Ram pointed out that this information can be had in the feasibility report for the project, which was submitted in March 2010 by an Argentina-based entity and “ducked for more than three years.”

Lead negotiator on Amaila, Winston Brassington

The Financial Analyst said that during his meeting with Brassington and his team, they agreed that Sithe Global would recover substantially, which would effectively reduce its “equity” commitment of US$150M. Ram said that Sithe Global was geared to recover unlimited fees and expenses of counsel and other consultants; unlimited out-of-pocket costs including travel and fees and expenses of firms or organizations hired by the company; unlimited costs and expenses incurred for the procurement of the construction and related contracts. Ram said that the company would have also recovered all costs incurred prior to the commencement date of the project, including US$12M, to pay Makeswhar Fip Motilall, who had failed to meet even the most basic condition of the Interim Licence. WOEFULLY UNAWARE Given the revelations, Ram opines that Brassington and his team seemed woefully unaware of aspects of the Hydro-Electric Power Regulations. Ram charged that, “Brassington’s leadership of the negotiations stood out for its dangerous unfamiliarity with the law governing hydro-electric power…Worse, he agreed to a billion-dollar legal bill that appears to have served all but the interest of the Guyanese taxpayer and consumer.” Ram said too that in seeking to prove that electricity rates will decrease, through the Amaila Hydro Project, Brassington, “entertains himself in fantasies about the exchange rate, dramatic system loss reductions, the end of private generation of power, a competently managed GPL and full rates charged in Linden for power.” In his blistering response, Ram concluded that, “it is of course worth noting that Brassington has not addressed the fatal flaws of the project identified by Kaehne Consulting Ltd. of Canada or Mercados of Argentina, whose reports he misrepresents, particularly about Amaila’s hydrology and the cost to be paid by GPL for power to be purchased from Amaila.”

It was a set up by Jagdeo/Ramotar/Ally/Persaud/Brassington the group of the greatest con men in Guyana. They were hoping the opposition would vote for the project and then disclose all the overruns after. APNU saved the country millions of US$ here. 

GPL is a liability to the people

During the consideration of the Estimates, the allocation requested by the Government for the Guyana Power & Light Inc. (GPL) was reduced from $10.2 billion to $5 billion. It must be noted that allocations in the Estimates are amounts being requested by the Government. These are then put to the National Assembly. If sufficient and credible information is provided by the Government, the allocations are approved without question.
In many instances, the Opposition would approve, without question, allocations for areas where it is recognised there exists a need such as for social services. In instances where sufficient information is not provided, the Opposition would then question the Government, usually the Minister responsible for the sector, on why the need for the allocation.
During the recent examination of the Estimates, as the allocation for GPL came under scrutiny, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds sought to get support from the Opposition by explaining that the Government subsidises the high cost of electricity which would otherwise pass on to the consumer.
What was lacking was an explanation that would clearly outline how the Government intends to minimise GPL’s line loss.
Consumers are being led to believe, by the outrageous propaganda on NCN and Government radio, that the reduction of the allocation will be the cause of increased tariffs or blackouts, or should we say, more blackouts.
The fact of the matter is that over 30% of electricity generated by GPL is lost along its transmission system and the ineptitude of the Board to come up with ideas how to reduce commercial losses. So for example, let us say GPL generates 300KW of power, over 100KW will never reach the consumers. Yet GPL, though it would have by its incompetence caused a loss of 100KW, ensures that it recovers the cost for generating 300KW of power.
Consumers are therefore being forced to pay for electricity they never receive, never consumed. Almost one third of your GPL Bill is payment for power you never received. This is robbery by the State!
Last year, the National Assembly withheld approval for $1 billion to GPL, but this amount was subsequently released and the company received the full allocation requested. One would have expected that some of this money would have been used to improve the efficiency of the transmission and commercial systems. Obviously, nothing much, if anything, was done in these areas.
What we see happening, is that the power company is focusing more on its billing system than its transmission system. The emphasis is on collecting money but little attention is being placed on providing an efficient service.
GPL, like so many other public corporations, is on the brink of financial disaster. Instead of progress, GPL is a liability to the people.
In his presentation during the recent budget debates, AFC Member of Parliament Moses Nagamootoo noted, “The couple over the road from my Chambers selling water coconut, who travels every week from Charity to Georgetown, makes a profit. The young lady over the road who sells sweets and drinks off an old fridge, makes a profit. But the multi-billion giant monopoly that sells electricity to all the people of Guyana, is broke! Guy-broke!
The PPP government guaranteed GPL loans amounting to $23 Billion for equipment and infrastructural works. This is throwing water on duck’s back! GPL is a huge black hole of inefficiency, mismanagement, waste and squandermania!”, and he added, “The PPP comes here [in the National Assembly] and threatens us that if we do not pay up, consumers have to pay a huge hike in electricity tariff. This is shotgun economic blackmail, and banditry!
In an article in the Stabroek News on May 27, 2012 Chartered Accountant Chris Ram in addressing the state of GPL noted, “The company maintains perhaps the highest paid set of top management in any company in Guyana – an average of ten million dollars per annum for 29 employees – including arguably the highest paid CEO in the country.”
Ram went on to point out that the company saw profits of $1.8 billion in 2009 and $553 million in 2010. And nine months after reporting the cash hoard, taxpayers in 2011 were forking out $1.5 billion for GPL. We now know that in 2012, a further $6 billion of taxpayers’ money was forked out for the power company.
In 2013, the Opposition approved a further $6 billion for GPL. Government wanted $11.5 billion!
Why should our people throw all this money behind GPL when the government cannot give straight answers for what it has done with these billions? The AFC in keeping with its policy on accountability will withhold finance for incompetence and inefficiency.

Let me reiterate for the PPP quackers...the grid...yes the grid...ultimately is the largest cost in the electricity production and distribution. If you cannot control the cost on delivery the modes of production...solar, wind, hydro etc, all with finite output will be overwhelmed. GPL needs to be separated from the control of that crook brassington and be placed into the hands of civilian administration elected by the parliament. To this point it has been mismanaged, is a worse black hole than the Skeldon plant and all because Brassington does not know his ass from the man that drills it. That parasite needs to go and responsible people take over the management of our electric grid and bring it into compliance.

Yes agree! The grid has to be modernized first. Then they have to tackle theft. 

More shocking revelations about Amaila Hydro Project

. IDB was asking for higher rate of return than China . Govt. deceptively kept information from public – Ramjattan

While the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) would normally make loans available to Guyana and other countries at concessional rates in the vicinity of one or two per cent, the loan to the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project was set at a whopping 9.5 per cent. This would mean that the IDB’s loan was being made at a higher interest rate than that of the Chinese Exim Bank, which the opposition and some sections of civil society had already labeled ‘prohibitively high.’

Khemraj Ramjattan – AFC Leader

The China Exim Bank was asking for 8.5 per cent on for its US500M that it had promised to lend for the Amaila Hydro Electric Project, while the IDB was asking for 9.5 per cent. This was confirmed this past weekend by Winston Brassington, who served as Guyana’s lead negotiator for the project. One analyst explained that the reason the IDB was asking for such a high rate of return is because it was for a private company, Amaila Falls Hydro Inc, and not a government that would normally receive concessionary rates. Leader of the Alliance for Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan when contacted for a comment on the IDB rate of return for its US$100M said that it was shocking and even more prohibitive than the Chinese loan. The AFC Leader had met with the Chinese Ambassador in a bid to query the ‘prohibitive’ 8.5 per cent it was asking for. The AFC Leader yesterday said too that the revelation that the IDB was asking for 9.5 per cent has illustrated the deceptive nature of Government given that all along, stakeholders were of the impression that the loan was at a concessionary rate of 1.5 per cent. “They (Government) should have come out and clarified this,” said Ramjattan, as he asserted that government knew that stakeholders were operating on the notion that the IDB loan was at a concessionary rate. He further stated that had government come out and explained that the IDB was asking for 9.5 per cent, then there would have been a better understanding in the public as to why the project was costing this much. He lamented that the confusion surrounding the project could have been avoided, had the government made public the various financial arrangements. The Confidential Project Document, which had to be leaked to this publication, has revealed the money to be expended for the hydro project is in excess of US1B, as against the US858M that government had been touting. That document revealed that while the government had said it would only be putting US$100M to the project, it had in fact committed US$157M to the hydro project. That document also revealed that the Guyana Power and Light Company would have had to deposit in an ‘Amaila Debt Reserve Account,’ US$36M in order to ensure payments to Amaila. The power company, in order to prepare for the electricity from Amaila, would have also had to spend more than US$90M in capital works, in order to be ‘hydro-ready’

APNU saved the nations millions of US dollars. No wonder, Prince Kwame acknowledges the supporters are turning to APNU and not the PPP/C inc.