President Bharrat Jagdeo has lashed out at recent reports and analyses in the local media concerning the Amaila Falls Hydropower project labeling them as “cake-shop” reports which sought to discredit the development that was taking place in the country.

Addressing residents of Wakenaam on Monday, Jagdeo said that some sections of the media are “masquerading” in their quest for the “next scandal”, a release from GINA said.   “They would question everything”, Jagdeo said as he pointed to the Kaieteur News  and its  questioning of the credibility and road building experience of the contractor Fip Motilall, who was awarded the contract to build the access road to the site.  “Now I have seen another newspaper questioning the hydropower in Uganda, how it is expensive,” the President said, apparently referring to this newspaper.  Jagdeo stressed that the tender for the project was a “public” and “open“ evaluation process that was awarded to the best of the bids. According to him, the project when completed will see the cost of electricity being one third of what is presently being sold by the Guyana Power and Light (GPL).

“It could reduce consumers’ bill, it would lead to industrialization because of cheaper reliable power and US$100 million that we spend every year to import fuel to generate electricity, the country will save that so it will have a big impact on our balance of payment and therefore, greater stability on our exchange rate and inflation rate,” GINA reported Jagdeo as saying.   According to GINA, the President said such a long-term benefit would not be highlighted by some sections of the media since they are not interested in developments taking place in Guyana. “They would see ten thousand people owning more cars, ten thousand people owning more homes, more hospitals and schools being built and yet they would claim that there is no progress in this country,” Jagdeo said.