In the wake of budget cuts proposed by the opposition, the Private Sector Commis-sion (PSC) yesterday urged consensus in Parliament over projects that will benefit from the Low Carbon Develop-ment Strategy
APNU and the AFC have proposed to effect budget cuts that could total as much as $20 billion and they target government’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), and the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL), among other sectors.
The PSC in a media release yesterday noted that it has been “painstakingly involved in the development of the LCDS” and is an “original member of the multi-stakeholders forum that has contributed time and effort over the years to the development of the LCDS nationally and internationally.”
Against that background, the PSC said: “We unequivocally urge that consensus in Parliament be found regarding the projects that will benefit from the LCDS funds.”
The PSC said further that “Land demarcation efforts, the Amerindian Development Fund, and other noble efforts by the project design experts handling the LCDS finances are worthy of a positive review in Parliament as continuous efforts have brought Guyana closer to accessing these funds.”
The PSC then urged “all political parties to examine these projects in detail so that we can arrive at what is good for Guyana.”
The PSC in building its case for a “positive review” of the OP budget, also pointed out that successive chairpersons of the commission sitting at the multi-stakeholders forum have seen the wisdom and long-term benefits of funding Amaila Falls and its future developmental opportunities for the private sector that is now plagued by the high cost of electricity.
According to the PSC, “the first wave of escalating electricity costs were buffered by private diesel generating sets owned by the private sector and in order to be competitive the Govern-ment of Guyana has had to grant duty-free fuel to a number of sectors. “The second wave was buffered by some companies utilizing Bunker C fuel, the cost of which is now growing ominously close to the cost of subsidized industrial power from GPL.”
The PSC asserted also that the “future of Guyana’s private sector power needs depends on our ability to have a stable cost for electricity applied to our productive sector and Amaila Falls in our view provides for this.”
“It will make Guyana a truly desirable investment destination and will add an important element of regional and extra-regional competitiveness to existing local industries,” the PSC maintained.
