Transparency continues to elude this country and even with an Opposition Majority we feel less convinced that our interests will be properly presented.
The facts often presented in the Auditor General report only illuminates what is hear-say around the country and often dismissed. But once we look at the black and white on those pages, we cannot dismiss that we are being taken for fools.
For more than two years we heard about a well funded plan to bring another fiber optic cable to the country using taxpayers money. Under any other circumstance, any project dealing with telecommunications would be dealt with under the Office of the Prime Minister.
This isn't the case, this time around the Office of the President as set up and escrow account with millions of US dollars aimed at executing this project.
Don't get us wrong, we understand that by law the Auditor General can scrutinize any public record but we sincerely doubt that the AG pushed his broom as far as it can reach in this instance. An estimated of more than $800 million for this project his a guess-timate with the AG office seeming reluctant to pursue the finer financial details of the project.
A project that is probably already costing taxpayers, takes up less than two paragraphs in the Ag report.
What is more bothering that is that the Opposition will not use its Economic Services committee to ensure that we get value for money or to ensure that all the financial undertakings of this project is brought to the fore.
What we do know is that the continued abuse of resources will have an everlasting impact on taxpayers.
Showing posts with label GPL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GPL. Show all posts
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
GPL’s fiber structure in Guyana
Once again the Government of Guyana is hoodwinking the people of Guyana. GPL has announced a need for rate increase to account for the shortfall in revenues. They propose to approach he Public Utilities Commission to grant them an increase in electricity rates.
GPL has been the only Utility that has consistently increased rates over the years.
While hiding under the cover of the losses and rates, the power company is also building a fiber networks across the country for a whopping $45million US dollars. This is being built even as one telephone company built its own network across the country.
The Power Company’s CEO justified his company’s cable being “more secure” than the Telephone Company’s – even though all the international agencies are using the Telephone Company’s cable which seem very “secure and redundant” fiber network. The only advantage GPL’s fiber has over another other fiber cable is that GPL is supposedly running theirs above the high voltage lines – so zero access by would-be vandals. However, GPL do not offer any redundancy and will eventually have to procure such redundancy from another company. What happens to GPL’s top-secured line if a truck crashes into the poles and brings it down?
We have also noticed that the power company is already in the apparent mode to sell capacity in its lines. However no self-respecting company will use this non-redundant system since, in the IT world, redundancy is critical. And, speaking of self-respecting companies, not even the Ministry of Finance, the local and international banks or the top business will risk putting its business on a non-redundant, flawed, Chinese-designed and Government owned system.
And, in mentioning the Chinese, they are building this system in which we expect US-based firms to put their businesses? We can foresee that the Government system will be run by the Guyana’s- IT-Czar-cum-Ramoutar’s son, and who will account for these funds released pre-Ramoutar era?
Coming back to the GPL’s proposed rate increase – this is a smart way to get the consumers to fund the Chinese fiber project. The build of the GPL’s fiber network will increase depreciation cost of the company, thereby reducing their profit, requiring, more money from consumers to meet that shortfall – so, in the final analysis, Guyanese consumers and politicians have to decide NOW if GPL must go through with a waste of resources which will be paid for by the unsuspecting public.
GPL has been the only Utility that has consistently increased rates over the years.
While hiding under the cover of the losses and rates, the power company is also building a fiber networks across the country for a whopping $45million US dollars. This is being built even as one telephone company built its own network across the country.
The Power Company’s CEO justified his company’s cable being “more secure” than the Telephone Company’s – even though all the international agencies are using the Telephone Company’s cable which seem very “secure and redundant” fiber network. The only advantage GPL’s fiber has over another other fiber cable is that GPL is supposedly running theirs above the high voltage lines – so zero access by would-be vandals. However, GPL do not offer any redundancy and will eventually have to procure such redundancy from another company. What happens to GPL’s top-secured line if a truck crashes into the poles and brings it down?
We have also noticed that the power company is already in the apparent mode to sell capacity in its lines. However no self-respecting company will use this non-redundant system since, in the IT world, redundancy is critical. And, speaking of self-respecting companies, not even the Ministry of Finance, the local and international banks or the top business will risk putting its business on a non-redundant, flawed, Chinese-designed and Government owned system.
And, in mentioning the Chinese, they are building this system in which we expect US-based firms to put their businesses? We can foresee that the Government system will be run by the Guyana’s- IT-Czar-cum-Ramoutar’s son, and who will account for these funds released pre-Ramoutar era?
Coming back to the GPL’s proposed rate increase – this is a smart way to get the consumers to fund the Chinese fiber project. The build of the GPL’s fiber network will increase depreciation cost of the company, thereby reducing their profit, requiring, more money from consumers to meet that shortfall – so, in the final analysis, Guyanese consumers and politicians have to decide NOW if GPL must go through with a waste of resources which will be paid for by the unsuspecting public.
Friday, June 11, 2010
End the Monopoly!
Every time some thing new comes to Guyana, King Jagdeo has one song to sing:‘I don’t want another monopoly’
But where he and his crooked cronies are to benefit he doesn’t mind at all.
Yes, we hail the King when he weighed into GT&T and brought Digicel! End the Monopoly right!
But am a little cat staring at the King asking him, please end the monopoly on Electricity, invite another electricity provider please!
End the monopoly on radio, free up the airwaves. End the monopoly of NCN,give others a chance.
End the monopoly of free travel around the world,send some others
Oh and please end the monopoly on greed. Share the wealth!
Friday, May 14, 2010
These monopolies
How Quaint!
A country with government owned monopolies.
1) Sugar – the sugar monopoly: beaten into submission by Burnham. Breathed under Hoyte. Boomed under Cheddie and Janet. Beaten to death by the Jagdeo-ites. A failed monopoly.
a)Jagdeo government paid million$ (management fees) to Booker Tate administration.
b) This same government collected millions from EU for the sugar industry
c) This same government took away guysuco land and paid for it with workers’ wages.
d) This same government collected SUGAR LEVY totaling more than that collected by the entire 28-years-PNC-government.
e) Jagdeo runs GuySuCo from his office, OP, since the chairman of GuySuCo (who has no business experience) operates from the office of the president.
Reason for all of this? Simple: the sugar workers are not pro-jagdeo
2) Electricity – owned by the Government, run by the Government.
Head of the GPL is:
i. The behind-the-scene-part-owner of another company
ii. The prime seller of government properties
iii. The owner of an island (really).
iv. The main broker for russkies
Another failed monopoly that cannot function even with the millions of sugar workers dollars being poured into it.
Political twist: the GPL is a black-people company.
3) Water: run by Jagdeo-ites.
Another failed monopoly that pays millions for sweet deals. Investigate the prepaid contracts handed for manufacture of pipes. See who got the contract.
Next time we will discuss GT&T, Gold board, health, etc.
Meanwhile, let us investigate how much land Lumumba really owns, how much property Brassington owns and how much contracts and $$$ are paid on a prepaid fashion to Atlantic.
A country with government owned monopolies.
1) Sugar – the sugar monopoly: beaten into submission by Burnham. Breathed under Hoyte. Boomed under Cheddie and Janet. Beaten to death by the Jagdeo-ites. A failed monopoly.
a)Jagdeo government paid million$ (management fees) to Booker Tate administration.
b) This same government collected millions from EU for the sugar industry
c) This same government took away guysuco land and paid for it with workers’ wages.
d) This same government collected SUGAR LEVY totaling more than that collected by the entire 28-years-PNC-government.
e) Jagdeo runs GuySuCo from his office, OP, since the chairman of GuySuCo (who has no business experience) operates from the office of the president.
Reason for all of this? Simple: the sugar workers are not pro-jagdeo
2) Electricity – owned by the Government, run by the Government.
Head of the GPL is:
i. The behind-the-scene-part-owner of another company
ii. The prime seller of government properties
iii. The owner of an island (really).
iv. The main broker for russkies
Another failed monopoly that cannot function even with the millions of sugar workers dollars being poured into it.
Political twist: the GPL is a black-people company.
3) Water: run by Jagdeo-ites.
Another failed monopoly that pays millions for sweet deals. Investigate the prepaid contracts handed for manufacture of pipes. See who got the contract.
Next time we will discuss GT&T, Gold board, health, etc.
Meanwhile, let us investigate how much land Lumumba really owns, how much property Brassington owns and how much contracts and $$$ are paid on a prepaid fashion to Atlantic.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Guyana's faux pas - data vs power
Wikipedia says:
"The electricity sector in Guyana is dominated by Guyana Power and Light (GPL), the state-owned vertically integrated utility. Although the country has a large potential for hydroelectric and bagasse-fueled power generation, most of its 226 MW of installed capacity correspond to inefficient thermoelectric diesel-engine driven generators."
Wikipedia also notes that Guyana's blackout (power outage) is the highest incidence in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The most incisive statement is that,"Electricity prices in Guyana are the third highest in the Caribbean." The rates range between US$0.25cents for residences and US$0.35cents for businesses (kWh). See GPL site.
The promise of cheaper power has been echoed for more than 30 years by several governments and now seems only a comfort to fools. It has been years since we have been told of Hydro Electricity and how such a venture would save us of billions of dollars we already spend each year on our fuel bill. For instance, our petroleum import bill for 2007 was almost 40% of our GDP. Not much has changed since then has it?
However, the Government of Guyana is now throwing more than US$37million behind bringing another fibre optic cable, a cable which benefits are still to be calculated.
In 2008 the President of Synergy Holdings Inc. (Makeshwar Motilall) spoke of bringing the Amaila Falls Hydro Project to a working state as he calculated an investment in this project at $400 million. Since 2002 we hve heard that the Hydro project has been slated to begin year after year. In 2006 Mr. Motilall was quoted as saying that the financial closing and ground breaking for this project were targeting for 2007 with December 15 2010 as the latest commence of work date. This 100 mega watt station is said to aid in the development of large scale industries and domestic consumption.
But has the government changed its course of direction in pursuing hydro power? Since the Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the government and Synergy Holdings Inc, the Company has repeatedly been quoted in the local press as saying it is awaiting financial closure.
As noted above, The government has now quickly secured more than US$37 million to bring a competing fibre optic cable to promote e-governance and break the Guyana Telephone and Telegraphy Company monopoly. While the President has said that his cable will be used for egovernenace, his Ministers and the PPP MPs have insisted (even in Parliament) that their cable will be competitive.
At the same time, the telephone company (GT&T) has said that it was/is investing US$60 million on a new undersea cable.
So, while the Government is finding US$37 million for a data cable, it is hard pressed to find a Lesser amount for hydro electricity?
Why are they investing in something that others are investing in when they cannot supply basic power? What will the GoG's customers pay for bandwidth prices and will the GoG be regulated?
Also, what will power up the customers' data customers?
There is more to this data cable deal than can be explained by economics, politics or by the lame excuse that they want to bring data prices down by their (GoG) own cable.
"The electricity sector in Guyana is dominated by Guyana Power and Light (GPL), the state-owned vertically integrated utility. Although the country has a large potential for hydroelectric and bagasse-fueled power generation, most of its 226 MW of installed capacity correspond to inefficient thermoelectric diesel-engine driven generators."
Wikipedia also notes that Guyana's blackout (power outage) is the highest incidence in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The most incisive statement is that,"Electricity prices in Guyana are the third highest in the Caribbean." The rates range between US$0.25cents for residences and US$0.35cents for businesses (kWh). See GPL site.
The promise of cheaper power has been echoed for more than 30 years by several governments and now seems only a comfort to fools. It has been years since we have been told of Hydro Electricity and how such a venture would save us of billions of dollars we already spend each year on our fuel bill. For instance, our petroleum import bill for 2007 was almost 40% of our GDP. Not much has changed since then has it?
However, the Government of Guyana is now throwing more than US$37million behind bringing another fibre optic cable, a cable which benefits are still to be calculated.
In 2008 the President of Synergy Holdings Inc. (Makeshwar Motilall) spoke of bringing the Amaila Falls Hydro Project to a working state as he calculated an investment in this project at $400 million. Since 2002 we hve heard that the Hydro project has been slated to begin year after year. In 2006 Mr. Motilall was quoted as saying that the financial closing and ground breaking for this project were targeting for 2007 with December 15 2010 as the latest commence of work date. This 100 mega watt station is said to aid in the development of large scale industries and domestic consumption.
But has the government changed its course of direction in pursuing hydro power? Since the Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the government and Synergy Holdings Inc, the Company has repeatedly been quoted in the local press as saying it is awaiting financial closure.
As noted above, The government has now quickly secured more than US$37 million to bring a competing fibre optic cable to promote e-governance and break the Guyana Telephone and Telegraphy Company monopoly. While the President has said that his cable will be used for egovernenace, his Ministers and the PPP MPs have insisted (even in Parliament) that their cable will be competitive.
At the same time, the telephone company (GT&T) has said that it was/is investing US$60 million on a new undersea cable.
So, while the Government is finding US$37 million for a data cable, it is hard pressed to find a Lesser amount for hydro electricity?
Why are they investing in something that others are investing in when they cannot supply basic power? What will the GoG's customers pay for bandwidth prices and will the GoG be regulated?
Also, what will power up the customers' data customers?
There is more to this data cable deal than can be explained by economics, politics or by the lame excuse that they want to bring data prices down by their (GoG) own cable.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Berbicians - lots more to come
The picture on the left is a replica of how Berbice was from Sunday 9 am to Monday 5pm.
Blackout.
Calls to the GPL offices explained nothing - they claimed a maintenance that was not 'fixed' properly.
Berbice will continue to enjoy blackout!
WHEN WILL FIP FLIP THE SWITCH?
WHEN WILL FIP FLIP THE SWITCH?
Since 1996 Synergy Holdings Incorporated has been ‘working’ to bring the Amaila Hydro Project to life’. Synergy Holdings Inc is owned by overseas-based Guyanese Makeshwar ‘Fip’ Motilall and each year from 1996 Guyanese have been promised that this Hydro Electricity Project will be powered up.
Here is a recap of these promises:
In 2008 Motilall said that the Engineering, procurement and construction bids would have been closed on the 30th October, 2008 and contractors would have been identified shortly with works going into ‘full swing in the 1st quarter of 2009’.
But this laughable position was later given at another forum which was attended by His Excellency President Jagdeo. The bids were pushed back and the investors and the government agreed that giving bidders an extension of time ‘would benefit all concerned’.
What has happened since?
There was talk that Sithe Global Power would have been providing $400 million and there were eager investors waiting to pump money into this.
In 2002 Motilall was quoted as saying that the project could cost $312 and this would be obtained from private financial institutions. (NONE NAMED because NONE CAME FORWARD).
BUT in 2006 here is what we heard, ‘we are STILL AWAITING FINANCIAL CLOSURE FOR THIS PROJECT’.
While there have been talks about the project kicking off in 2010 from 1996 to now there has been a long list of promises and excuses about this project.
This 100 megawatt facility is expected to reduce Guyana’s dependency on fossil fuels. We spend more than 40% of our GDP on Fuel!
YOU TELL US WHY INVESTORS ARE NOT TUMBLING OVER EACH OTHER TO PUMP MONEY INTO AMAILA??
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Low carbon strategy for Guyana
The wise persons in Government are working up a Guyanese storm on low carbon strategy.
Anything to change the focus of people from their problems with GPL!
Millions of dollars are being lost through power surges. Hours of valuable work are lost due to long hours of blackout.
While we strategize towards a low carbon future, we are continuously pushing people to buying generators for every home in Guyana - creating untold damage to the environment!
What happens when an island owner runs Power and a roving president runs Guyana?
t-a-l-k t-a-l-k t-a-l-k
We do support such strategy however as we need to care the environment. But, we must proactively care for this Country and take care of its problems that are destroying the environment that we want to care for. Wind, Solar and Hydro have been coming for decades and have not arrived. In the meantime, we lost millions through Fuel imports, carbon emissions and loss of equipment and time. Were we to value this loss, we may well find that it quantifies more than the GoG will get from the people who will 'sponsor' his strategy.
Anything to change the focus of people from their problems with GPL!
Millions of dollars are being lost through power surges. Hours of valuable work are lost due to long hours of blackout.
While we strategize towards a low carbon future, we are continuously pushing people to buying generators for every home in Guyana - creating untold damage to the environment!
What happens when an island owner runs Power and a roving president runs Guyana?
t-a-l-k t-a-l-k t-a-l-k
We do support such strategy however as we need to care the environment. But, we must proactively care for this Country and take care of its problems that are destroying the environment that we want to care for. Wind, Solar and Hydro have been coming for decades and have not arrived. In the meantime, we lost millions through Fuel imports, carbon emissions and loss of equipment and time. Were we to value this loss, we may well find that it quantifies more than the GoG will get from the people who will 'sponsor' his strategy.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Power for health services!
No power in Guyana; How health services suffer in Guyana:
The acquisition of reliable and affordable power poses a challenge to many health facilities.
- In Guyana the PEPFAR program and the Ministry of Health (MOH) requested USAID assistance in assessing options for improving energy services in health facilities.
- Full service district hospitals located on the coast suffer from expensive, unreliable, and poor quality power.
- District hospitals located in the interior face similar problems compounded by the fact that the power is intermittent, of worse quality, and from a variety of expensive sources.
- Hinterland health centers often have no energy at all.
- The expensive cost of electricity in Guyana makes the long-term operating costs of power intensive health care facilities currently under construction significant.
Full article: Powering health Guyana
The acquisition of reliable and affordable power poses a challenge to many health facilities.
- In Guyana the PEPFAR program and the Ministry of Health (MOH) requested USAID assistance in assessing options for improving energy services in health facilities.
- Full service district hospitals located on the coast suffer from expensive, unreliable, and poor quality power.
- District hospitals located in the interior face similar problems compounded by the fact that the power is intermittent, of worse quality, and from a variety of expensive sources.
- Hinterland health centers often have no energy at all.
- The expensive cost of electricity in Guyana makes the long-term operating costs of power intensive health care facilities currently under construction significant.
Full article: Powering health Guyana
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