Month:

-while addressing Fifth Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development

Georgetown, Ministry of Finance, March 7, 2022: Addressing the Fifth Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development today, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh highlighted the initiatives being further taken by Government as it aims to aggressively ensure that Guyana achieves the targeted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The forum attended virtually by the Finance Minister is being held in San Jose, Costa Rica and the Minister’s presentation was made in response to the fifth report on regional progress and challenges in relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Recognizing that food systems are critical not only to the elimination of hunger and the reduction of poverty but are also linked to the achievement of several of the SDGs, Guyana is giving heightened attention to the agri-food sector with a view to increasing the quantity and quality of output and to reduce food insecurity,” Minister Singh explained. To support this point, the Minister highlighted Government’s spearheading of the CARICOM (Caribbean Community) Agri-Food Systems Agenda which prioritizes regional food security and nutrition. He further alluded to the recent meeting held last week held in Belize (33 rd Intersessional Meeting) which aimed to reduce the Region’s food import bill by 25 percent by 2025.

“Second, as a low-lying coastal developing state with the attendant vulnerabilities to climate change, Guyana has crafted a unique development model as a response to the climate crisis. In this regard, we are pursuing a Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030 which simultaneously facilitates sustainable economic development while combatting climate change,” the Finance Minister added. In this regard, he emphasized that the LCDS is premised on the REDD+ mechanism and commits to the preservation of rainforests as a means of lowering carbon emissions. The Minister posited that “Our LCDS 2030 takes account of environmental services, water resources management, climate resilience, biodiversity, renewable energy, the marine economy, and land management.”

On Government’s plan to tackle learning loss as a result of the pandemic, the Finance Minister alluded to Government’s ongoing work in the education sector.

“Conscious that the pandemic has engendered learning loss, the Government of Guyana is providing tangible support for learning from nursery to tertiary levels for broad-based human capital development. This support includes the provision of twenty thousand (20,000) online scholarships in more than one hundred and eighty-seven (187) programmes that can be accessed from fifteen (15) reputable academic institutions across the world,” he noted. Dr. Singh added that ‘the areas of scholarship include vocational training, undergraduate, and post-graduate studies.’

“These efforts along with other social safety nets such as the childcare subsidies and cash grants aim to enhance learning outcomes and capacity building,” he further assured the Forum.

Finally, the Senior Finance Minister urged the forum that if the development architecture is to be changed to achieve meaningful and sustainable development, then in determining eligibility for development financing, the multidimensional nature of vulnerabilities must be taken into account.

“The beyond-GDP argument is now old, and globally we need to move well beyond this if we are serious about sustainable development. I would like to reiterate Guyana’s call made by President Dr. Irfaan Ali and once again urge that the work on developing a robust and credible Multidimensional Vulnerability Index be brought to a timely conclusion and finalization, and that we move swiftly as a global community to incorporate the MVI into the framework for determining eligibility for development support, especially concessional support,” Dr. Singh said.

Concluding his presentation, the Minister said Government recognizes that the achievement of the SDGs requires partnership at various levels and remains committed to working with the United Nations system to accelerate the process.

The Forum will include several more presentations from various countries and will conclude on March 9, 2022.

Georgetown, Ministry of Finance, February 28, 2022: Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance Dr. Ashni Singh today condemned what he termed the misinformation campaign targeting the Amaila Falls Hydropower project and other major development projects as he noted that it is the same campaign which was carried out prior to 2015 and resulted in major projects being stymied while no other alternative was offered by the party which assumed office afterward.

“I want to express in the strongest possible terms my grave disappointment and indeed our government’s grave disappointment at the campaign of misinformation that is being waged in relation to major developmental projects and in particular, most recently, in relation to the Amaila Falls Hydropower project,” the Minister said reminding that the project was subject to extremely detailed studies and analysis by international technical experts and it was examined by international development agencies and bilateral partners such as Norway. He added that it was also examined by international investors.

“In fact, if we were to cast our minds back to the pre-2015 period, we had brought (the then PPP/C Government) the project to a point where we had a major, large, credible international investor who was ready and willing to invest in this project. It would be recalled that the then APNU/AFC used their one-seat majority while in opposition to derail and ultimately to frustrate the project. Had the then APNU/AFC not done so… not only would construction have commenced but construction by now would have been completed and Amaila would have been providing electricity to the National Grid,” The Senior Finance Minister explained.

He noted that what was particularly significant was that the then Government upon assuming office in 2015 commissioned a study to be done by an international consultancy entity (Norwegian Consultancy Agency) Norconsult to complete a study on the project.

“Norconsult did an extensive study and concluded in very favorable terms that the Amaila Falls project was the best option for Guyana to transition to clean renewable energy. That report is publicly available Minister Singh further emphasized while reminding that despite all that, the APNU/AFC government did not proceed with the project, nor did they produce an alternative project. He posited that the PPP/C Government committed to resuming work on the project and completing it once it assumed office once more.

“Let me be crystal clear that the resumption of this campaign of misinformation has one objective in mind-the same objective as the misinformation campaign during the pre-2015 period and that is to frustrate development-to deny the people development as long as the PPP/C is in office,” Minister Singh concluded.

In examining the misinformation on the project, the Ministry of Finance has noted that since the Energy Conference held recently, there have been a series of articles on the Amaila Falls Hydropower project that are either fabrications, erroneous, or lacking in balance and objectivity.

The Ministry of Finance wishes to remind that the Amaila Falls project has been extensively studied and reviewed. Many of the current project risks were exposed to the public since 2012 and were properly reviewed by all partners (including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and due diligence was conducted by expert firms on behalf of the IDB. As recently as 2016, the project was reviewed at the request of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) by Norway via an independent firm Norconsult. The current project, taken as a whole, based on independent reviews and analysis, manages risks prudently. The project also represents a clean, renewable means of electricity with significant financial savings for Guyana.

Hydrology:

In the February 22 edition of the Kaieteur News, the newspaper published an article headlined “GPL liable when Amaila Falls run dry”—Winston Brassington. Firstly, the above was never said by Winston Brassington and therefore the headline was a total fabrication and an erroneous statement. Winston Brassington referred to hydrology risk being assumed by GPL, as off-taker, a position reviewed and supported by consultants, as articulated below. No reasonable extrapolation can equate the KN headline to what was stated by Mr. Brassington. The fact is Amaila will have a 23 KM 2 reservoir to hold water and this reservoir allows the hydro optimized delivery of energy on an annual basis. Secondly, dating back to 2012, all Parties considered the hydrology assumption that Amaila can deliver 1,050 GWH energy on average per annum, a reasonable number (if not conservative). These number were relied on by the IDB in their due diligence in 2012. By way of illustration, at 165 MW, without factoring hydrology risks, the project can generate as much as 1,445 GWh, at full capacity. Assuming 1,050 GWH/annum, assumes a capacity utilization of 72%. It is at this capacity, that the price of 7.7 cents/kWh is calculated over a 20-year period. In some years, there may be more than 1,050 GWH generated; in others, it could be lower. Under all scenarios, Amaila delivers a significant reduction in power generation costs and a minimum annual level of energy. Amaila, in essence, is a clean renewable project. Thirdly, these matters were addressed and made a public record. For example, we attach a press release from the GOG dated October 2013 which addressed the hydrology issue. Fourthly, various studies consider the hydrology assumptions, conservative:

Independent Engineer (Tractebel Engineering S.A) for the IDB in 2013:

“Regarding the inflows, it is the Consultant’s opinion that they may have been significantly
underestimated (likely by some 23% on average) …….”

Norconsult (Norwegian independent final report dated December 2016 at the request of APNU):

“The Halcrow Group’s Hydrology Review Report of June 2011 indicates the selected factor 0.3 to be somewhat conservative (on the safe side) as regards the production potential. The same view, even stronger, especially in periods of low flow, is opined in the IE's Due Diligence Report of 2013. A conservative transposing factor (0.3) and the moderate installed capacity compared to the medium inflow to the reservoir means that the risk for not achieving the foreseen production potential is low. Therefore, the hydrological uncertainty of having scarce series of direct flow measurements cannot be concluded to be a threat to the soundness of the project.

Geological Risk:

Independent Engineer (Tractebel Engineering S.A) for the IDB in 2013:

“Globally, the geological context of the area is predominantly a compact, massive bedrock, consisting of horizontally stratified hard sandstones forming the upper plateau, and in the area of the powerhouse, power tunnel, and likely the lower part of the shaft, an intrusion of massive eruptive rock. On the upper plateau, the thickness of soils appears limited, in the area of the dam and the headrace tunnel, and the bedrock appears generally close to ground surface. In the area of the powerhouse and under the slope below the upper plateau, the bedrock appears covered by a thick deposit of soils mixed with large boulders, either of sandstone fallen from the upper plateau cliffs, or eruptive rocks boulders resulting from in place weathering process. No major fault or other kind of large geological singularity is anticipated in the area of the project works. This constitutes a globally favorable geological context.”

Norconsult (Norwegian independent final report dated December 2016 at the request of APNU) –pg. 26:

“The most favourable natural features of the Amaila Falls site for the planned hydropower project are: (i) the river gradient provides an inherent gross head of about 350 m over a river stretch of only about 3 km; (ii) the geology seems generally favourable for underground works, especially in the igneous rocks underlying the sedimentary rocks on top, and (iii) the planned installed capacity is small compared to the mean water flow in Kuribrong / Amaila rivers at the project site.” The Ministry therefore urges all media outlets to be responsible when reporting on matters of National interest.

Attached is an Oct 15, 2013 Press Release by the GOG relating to the Amaila Falls Hydrology.

GoG 2013 release on Amaila

Georgetown, Ministry of Finance, February 10, 2022: The $552.9 Billion National Budget presented to Parliament on January 26 was today passed in Parliament following approval of the Appropriation Bill 2022 (Bill No. 1 of 2022) and the Fiscal Enactment Amendment Bill (No. 2 of 2022) and conclusion of five days of debates along with four days of Committee of Supply meetings. During these periods, A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change’s (APNU/AFC’s) Opposition Members went through the estimates and grilled Government officials on all of the various provisions under each Ministry and sector.

Just after the passage of the Appropriation Bill and moments before the passage of the Fiscal Enactment Amendment Bill today, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh explained to the National Assembly that Bill No. 2 is intended to amend the legislation pertaining to the various tax statutes which required amendments for the purposes of giving effect to the measures included in Budget 2022.

“It would be recalled Sir that there are provisions in Budget 2022 that are intended for example to increase the income tax threshold. That measure was announced in the context of Budget 2022. It was of course I believe adequately and abundantly ventilated during the course of the debate of the Budget. This Bill seeks to give legislative effect to that announcement. It similarly, Sir, seeks to give effect to other tax measures announced during the course of Budget 2022,” Dr. Singh added as he addressed the Speaker and the National Assembly. The Finance Minister then went on to list some of the tax measures including the measure to increase the income tax threshold.

During his presentation under the theme ‘Steadfast Against All Challenges, Resolute in Building our One Guyana’ on Budget Day, the Senior Finance Minister had indicated that this year’s Budget would be “historic” and “transformational.”

“Budget 2022 – if I were to highlight a single sentence to describe Budget 2022 it would really be to say that it will be transformational in the sense that many of the big initiatives that we have alluded to in the manifesto, [and] subsequently in the major presidential speeches, one could easily get a good sense of the main priorities coming out of the manifesto,” Dr. Singh had said.

The Finance Minister in his speech to the National Assembly had emphasized too that this year’s Budget ‘provides for massive investment in infrastructure that will change the face of Guyana forever, opening vast new tracts of land for productive purposes, establishing entire new communities while connecting others and making thousands of Guyanese homeowners for the very first time’.

“This Budget lays the basis for thousands of rewarding jobs to be created for Guyanese nationals, including by leveraging the local content opportunities that are now being created, and it provides for relevant training to ensure that the Guyanese workforce is suitably equipped,” he added.

Dr. Singh had further concluded that Budget 2022 ‘lays the cornerstone for a visible leap in the coverage and quality social services enjoyed by our Guyanese brothers and sisters, including and especially the most vulnerable’.

Budget 2022 is 44.3 percent larger than Budget 2021 and will include the first withdrawals (in the amount of $126.7 billion) to be made in keeping with the new and strengthened legislative framework governing the 2021 Natural Resources Fund (NRF) Act. This amount from the NRF will be transferred to the Consolidated Fund. Importantly, Budget 2022 is being financed without the introduction of any new taxes and without excessive borrowing.

Key measures in Budget 2022 include a strong focus on Local Content and Job Creation especially in keeping with the December 2021 Local Content Act passed in the National Assembly, support for renewal of the industrial and commercial transport fleet, Removal of 14 % VAT from cranes, safety equipment and oil spill response equipment, Removal of 2 percent withholding tax on resident contractors to reverse the punitive measures implemented by the previous Administration, Easing the Cost of Living through the extension of the application of the freight cost adjustment for the calculation of import taxes, a further excise tax rate reduction on gasoline and diesel from 20 percent to 10 percent, Support for the vulnerable through the introduction of a Dialysis Support Programme to finance treatment for dialysis patients, an increase in the monthly Public Assistance payment from $12,000 to $14,000, an increase in Old Age Pension from $25,000 to $28,000, increasing disposable income through a $25,000 ‘Because We Care’ cash grant for each child attending both private and public school and an increase in the monthly income tax threshold from $65,000 to $75,000.

Georgetown, Ministry of Finance, February 3, 2022:– Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance Dr. Ashni Singh has announced that the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) today issued its no objection for negotiations to commence with the most responsive bidder, Construtora Queiroz Galvao S.A. from Brazil for the award of the Linden to Mabura Hill upgrade project .This project is the first link of the highway between Linden and Lethem. It would provide major support to ease of travel, trade and general connectivity between Guyana and Brazil and open vast opportunities by linking Guyana’s hinterland communities to Georgetown.

The process leading to the award of this contract followed a stringent and transparent procurement process whereby the call for proposals for the prequalification of contractors was made in February 2021. Ten (10) Contractors were prequalified and the prequalified list of contractors was approved by the CDB in October 2021.

Following the prequalification phase, the bidding process began in October 2021 and concluded in December 2021. Of the 10 prequalified Contractors, the following 5 made submissions: China Gezhouba Group Company Limited, China Railway International Group & China Railway No.10 Engineering Group Co., Ltd., Shandong Luqiao Group Co., Ltd., OECI S.A. (OECI) in JV with Castilho Engenharia E Empreendimentos S.A. (CEE) and Construtora Queiroz Galvao S.A.

The bids were carefully scrutinized and evaluated by a team of local engineers. After a thorough evaluation process involving engagements and consultations with the Caribbean Development Bank, Consultant Mott MacDonald and other specialists, Bid No. 5 , Construtora Queiroz Galvao S.A , was determined as the most responsive bid indicating full compliance with all Environmental, Social, Health and Safety requirements. The CDB indicated its concurrence with the recommendation of the Guyanese evaluation committee and issued it no-objection to commence negotiations with the winning bidder.

This project will be the largest project ever funded by the Caribbean Development Bank; and one of the most historic projects undertaken in Guyana.

The road works include upgrading the existing alignment to Asphaltic Concrete Surface – 2 Lanes, 7.2m width, approximately 122Km and the inclusion as well of five drainage structures.

Construtora Queiroz Galvao S.A is a large Brazilian Contractor established in 1966. The Company specializes in the construction of refineries, roads, bridges, commercial offices, residential buildings, highways, and sewage systems worldwide.

-cooperation, collaboration in key areas discussed

Georgetown, Ministry of Finance, January 11, 2022: Senior Finance Minister Dr. Ashni K. Singh today met with visiting Commonwealth Secretary-General Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC and her delegation at the Ministry of Finance where the two officials discussed cooperation and collaboration in a number of key areas.

During the meeting, Minister Singh welcomed the Secretary-General and her team to Guyana and indicated that the President Irfaan-Ali led Government continues to believe strongly in the Commonwealth’s relevance and its importance in the current contemporary situation in Commonwealth countries such as Guyana.

“Even when we were in Government (before) we could recall there were a number of important pressing global problems whereby the Commonwealth played an integral role. Our issues in Climate Change was one example but there were other things like the Multi-dimensional Vulnerability Index. In particular, the Commonwealth has demonstrated a unique leadership on Small States issues and that is in particular, a topic that we feel very strongly about,” Dr. Singh said.

Minister Singh noted that there is a long list of areas in which Guyana would have benefitted through the Commonwealth (in terms of support) with two at the top of the list being the role the Commonwealth played in supporting Guyana’s fight for its democracy in 2020 and the issue pertaining to Guyana’s relationship with Venezuela.

For her part, the Commonwealth Secretary-General noted that the current period is a new era where small States have a pivotal role to play with Guyana’s leadership being of particular importance in terms of its current approach to development as it is not only focused on oil and gas but also on developing other areas (sectors).

She added that Small States despite possessing only small voices, will be very powerful especially since the small States have demonstrated graphically the consequences of Climate Change. With Guyana being both a part of CARICOM as well as a part of the Commonwealth, the Commonwealth Secretary-General also noted that the country will be a major focus of the Commonwealth in terms of its management approaches as this may serve as a model for other small States.

Meanwhile, other areas discussed (in which both teams can cooperate and collaborate) included debt-management, good governance and anti-corruption, information communication technology in terms of digital solutions for effective financial management as well as the development of upstream petroleum policies.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General was accompanied by Director and Head of the SG’s Office, Ms. Deborah Jamieson; Senior Director, Governance and Peace Directorate, Professor Luis Franceschi, Assistant Research Officer of the SG’s Office, Mr. Francis Wanjiku and Assistant Research Officer of the Governance and Peace Directorate, Ms. Fayola Fraser.

Accompanying the Senior Finance Minister at the meeting were Finance Secretary, Mr. Sukrishnalall Pasha, Director of Projects (Project Cycle Management Division), Mr. Tarachand Balgobin, Head (Bilateral Division) Ms. Donna Levi and Head (Debt Management Division), Ms. Donna Yearwood.

Georgetown, Ministry of Finance, January 7, 2022: Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance Dr. Ashni Singh today confirmed that no money will be withdrawn from the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) without Parliamentary approval. The Minister made this clarification on the sidelines of Budget 2022 meetings and preparation, a Budget that will soon be presented to the National Assembly, on a date that Minister Singh has stopped short of disclosing.

Minister Singh explained that though he signed the Commencement Order for the NRF on December 31 last which states: ‘I appoint the 1 st Day of January, 2022 as the date on which he Natural Resource Fund Act shall come into operation’ that he wished to make it clear that no monies can be withdrawn from the NRF unless there is Parliamentary approval.

“Not a cent CAN be withdrawn without prior parliamentary approval, not a cent HAS been withdrawn and not a cent WILL be withdrawn until approved by Parliament”, Dr. Singh said.

The new Natural Resource Fund Act was assented to on December 30, a day after its passage in the National Assembly. The Law brings legitimacy to the legal framework governing the Natural Resource Fund having replaced the illegitimate and cumbersome act passed by the previous caretaker administration. This Law now allows for substantial improvement in the management of the natural resource wealth of Guyana for the present and future benefit of all citizens. It contains enhanced clauses (replacing defective clauses in the old NRF 2019 Act) including a significant one which provides for the establishment of a Board of Directors that will be responsible for reviewing and approving the policies of the Fund and monitoring its performance thereby separating the management of the Fund from the Minister responsible for Finance. Another key amendment in the new legislation is that the Minister of Finance could face up to ten years imprisonment if he fails to disclose the receipt of any petroleum revenue received by Government in the Official Gazette within three months of receipt of such monies which highlights the seriousness of Government’s commitment to accountability and transparency.