As the government and the main opposition party keeps playing the blame game as it relates to the death of the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, the IDB has stopped all work on the due diligence report.
A statement from the Ministry of Finance aimed at lashing out at A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) revealed that “The IDB’s due diligence has now ceased, and without it, the public review of the project cannot take place.”
The construction of the project will no longer see fruition after its main investor – Sithe Global – withdrew, following a lack of political census on the part of the APNU.
According to Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh, APNU was not asked to support the finalization of the project.
“They were simply being asked to join a political consensus that would move the project out of the exclusive realm of politicians in the last few months of its design. Specifically, they were being asked to join a consensus which would let the independent IDB due diligence finish its last few weeks of work. And perhaps most importantly, they were being asked to join a consensus which would have let the six week public review of the Amaila Falls Hydro project take place – as part of transferring the bulk of Guyana’s equity contribution from the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF),” Minister Singh said in his statement.
According to the Minister, “There is no logical or patriotic reason to stop the IDB due diligence from being completed. After millions of dollars have been spent over many years, involving hundreds of experts, their views and expertise would have been a better way to solve detailed technical issues than un-informed letters in the media.”
