APNU Member of Parliament Sharma Solomon has accused the government of pursuing costly projects without a coherent national development strategy, arguing that Guyana’s rapid economic growth and rising oil revenues have not produced corresponding improvements in the lives of ordinary citizens.
In a letter to President Irfaan Ali following his recent press conference and engagements with parliamentary committees, Solomon said the government had acknowledged serious problems with the electricity system and the cost of living but had failed to accept responsibility for the decisions that contributed to them.
The MP focused on electricity, the delayed gas-to-energy project, oil revenues, rising living costs and the government’s Third Country National Agreement with the United States.
He said the country had reached the point where the central question was no longer whether it possessed sufficient resources to develop, but whether those resources were being properly managed.
“A government can spend billions and still lack a National Development Strategy,” Solomon wrote. “Development is not the size of the cheque. Development is what remains when the money has been spent.”
Power problems
Solomon referred to Ali’s description of the recent blackouts as “unpleasant” and “unacceptable”, and the President’s acknowledgement that repairing the electricity system would require major investment.
He said GPL had subsequently reported peak demand of 257 megawatts against installed generation capacity of 265.6 MW, with overloaded feeders and transformers also contributing to outages.
According to Solomon, the narrow margin between available capacity and demand, along with weaknesses in the transmission and distribution network, reflected poor planning by the government.
He argued that the administration knew that new housing developments, businesses and industries would increase electricity consumption but failed to expand the grid at the same pace.
“Economic growth cannot be planned separately from the electricity needed to sustain it,” he said.
GPL has struggled with repeated outages despite the addition of rented power ships and new generating units. The utility has also acknowledged that sections of its transmission and distribution network are unable to reliably carry the available generation.
Solomon said Guyanese should not be required to ration electricity or bear the consequences of decisions they did not make.
“They did not design the energy policy, your Government did. They did not select the Wales gas-to-energy site, your Government did. They did not negotiate the contracts, your Government did. They did not rent the power ships, it is your Government that did,” he wrote.
Gas-to-energy costs
The MP also questioned the delays and rising costs associated with the gas-to-energy project at Wales, which was originally expected to deliver cheaper and more reliable electricity.
Ali recently said components of the project are expected to become operational later this year, with additional works continuing into 2027.
Solomon said the government had selected the Wales site and proceeded despite concerns about its location and engineering challenges. It could not, therefore, distance itself from responsibility for the project’s difficulties, he argued.
He asserted that the undertaking, initially presented as costing approximately US$750 million, had grown into a wider programme costing more than US$2 billion. He called for the government to publish a complete calculation of the final cost, including expenditure on the power plant, pipeline and upgrades needed to transmit and distribute the electricity.
“A cheaper fuel source does not automatically mean a 50 per cent reduction to the consumer if the transmission and distribution network cannot reliably carry the power,” Solomon said.
He questioned whether the government’s longstanding promise of a 50% reduction in electricity costs remained achievable after the delays, increased expenditure and necessary investment in GPL’s network.
Oil revenues
Solomon also addressed Ali’s statement at his August press conference that Guyana’s entitlement to petroleum production had risen to approximately 39.8% as recoverable costs declined.
He cautioned that the figure represented Guyana’s production entitlement and should not be described as the country receiving 39.8% of profits. The profit-oil sharing provisions of the 2016 petroleum agreement remained applicable after cost recovery, he said.
The MP argued that the more important issue was whether growing petroleum revenues were producing measurable improvements in citizens’ lives.
He said billions of dollars were being withdrawn from the Natural Resource Fund without a clearly articulated national strategy linking that expenditure to a diversified and productive economy.
“Where is the long-term plan that connects today’s oil revenue to tomorrow’s productive economy?” he asked.
US agreement
Solomon also called for parliamentary scrutiny of the Third Country National Agreement under which Guyana accepts a limited number of non-Guyanese nationals removed from the United States.
Ali has said Guyana retains the right to accept or reject individuals, conducts its own vetting and will not bear the costs associated with their relocation and accommodation. The International Organization for Migration is expected to provide reception and other support.
The President subsequently met government members of the parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee to discuss the arrangement and Guyana’s border controversy with Venezuela. Opposition representatives did not attend after requesting, but not receiving, an agenda.
Solomon said parliamentary engagement could only be meaningful if legislators were provided with the documents and information necessary to scrutinise the arrangement.
“On matters involving migration, national security, sovereignty and Guyana’s international obligations, transparency should not be treated as an inconvenience,” he said.
Solomon maintained that roads, electricity projects, oil revenues and public investments should be tied to economic opportunities, employment and stronger institutions.
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