PNC, AFG to meet Glover on GEC deal concerns
The PNC and the Alliance for Guyana (AFG) were yesterday scheduled to meet British High Commissioner to Guyana, Edward Glover, to register their concerns about the manner of the privatisation of the Guyana Electricity Corporation (GEC). PNC leader, Desmond Hoyte yesterday confirmed that a meeting was scheduled for the evening. But The United Force (TUF) was not to be a part of the meeting as its leader, Manzoor Nadir, does not believe there is need to register any concern with the High Commissioner. The three opposition parliamentary parties will not support legislation to facilitate the privatisation of the GEC, up for their second readings in Parliament today, as they were not privy to the agreements the government has reached with the UK consortium, the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC)/ESB International. The parties are contending that to understand the legislation, these agreements, especially the licence being granted to CDC/ESBI should be made available to them. Prime Minister Sam Hinds, who has portfolio for electricity, had agreed to sharing the documents with the parties but reneged on this. Debate on the Public Utilities Commission Bill and the Electricity Sector Reform Bill were put off from last Thursday to today to facilitate meaningful dialogue between the government and the opposition parties on the privatisation of GEC. However, the meeting was aborted after Hinds went back on his word. Hoyte said on Tuesday that the PNC will oppose the privatisation of GEC, given this situation, and warned CDC/ESBI to take heed of what is taking place and fade away quietly or face a bundle of industrial and political problems. CDC/ESBI officials yesterday had no comment to offer on Hoyte's stated position. Meanwhile, Vice-Chairman of the Private Sector Commission and member of the quadripartite committee to look at rates for GEC, Ramdial Bhookmohan, urged that the agreements be made available to the opposition parties in the interest of the country. Bhookmohan said he was surprised to hear that the Prime Minister went back on his word and urged that the government try to get all the parties to support the legislative changes. He noted that manufacturers and the productive sector have suffered at the hands of GEC and this entity needs to be privatised as Guyanese consumers need an efficient service. Meanwhile, the PNC has denounced the government's statement--that Hoyte's warning smacked of his "anti-national obsession to oppose privatisation at all costs" and of him holding himself out as a political scarecrow to frighten investors and frustrate further efforts to bring a needed partnership for the electricity sector--as an abuse masquerading as a press release. A PNC statement said the descent to a personal attack on Hoyte was a transparent and futile attempt to create a red herring and divert attention from the web of "deceit and incompetence" which surrounds the government's handling of the privatisation deal negotiated for GEC. "In so doing, it exposes the fact that the government is bereft of any sensible or plausible explanation of its dealings which it can offer to the nation," said the PNC statement. It furthered that the government's allegation, in its release, of a secret deal by the PNC to get rid of GEC is a baseless fabrication. "The only secret deal concerning the GEC is the current one that is clandestinely and incompetently attempted," said the release.
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