Power play by government Miami Herald March 26, 1998 GEORGETOWN -- The government says it will choose a new partner for the state-owned power company June 30, five months after a Canadian firm canceled a deal because of political unrest. Dozens of companies, including three American firms, have expressed interest in buying a 50 percent stake in the Guyana Electric Corp., the sole provider of electricity in the South American country of 733,000 people. The buyer will also get contracts to manage the utility. Saskatchewan Power Commercial of Canada pulled out of a $22.5 million takeover in January because of riots that followed the Dec. 15 elections. An international team of election experts began an audit of the polls last week in an attempt to stem further unrest. GEORGETOWN -- A KFC restaurant franchise is shipping back more than 100,000 pounds of U.S. chicken that health officials in Guyana declared too old to use. Guyanese inspectors said the chicken carried a September 1997 expiration date. GEORGETOWN -- The ruling People's Progressive Party/CIVIC has ruled out a devaluation of the Guyanese dollar, which has slid to 145 per U.S. dollar. The party said in a statement that there is no need for anyone to pay a premium for foreign currency and there is no point for the private sector, exchange houses and commercial banks to hoard foreign currency because the Guyana dollar will not be devalued.