Dear Editor:
It is astonishing, though not entirely surprising, that David Patterson, who presided over the catastrophic mismanagement of Guyana’s power sector in the APNU+AFC administration, now seeks to pontificate on the state of electricity in the country, a state of disaster Patterson himself engineered with his inept leadership and utter disregard for the future of this country.
Patterson’s tenure as Minister was marked by a total abandonment of responsibility, with no meaningful capital investment in the sector from 2015 to 2020, an appalling display of neglect, reckless incompetence, and blatant corruption.
The Government of Guyana has been crystal clear with the public about the inherited disaster in the power sector.
The generating sets, many of which are outdated relics, stand as a testament to his failure to modernise and expand the sector, even as demand for electricity increased exponentially due to the country’s economic growth, which he and his administration were incapable of anticipating or accommodating, given the expansion of the petroleum sector.
Manufacturing is booming, new hotels are rising, businesses are expanding and demanding more power.
The Government’s transformative Gas-to-Energy project, which Patterson’s administration could never have executed, is already well underway, with pipelines and other critical components visibly taking shape, providing tangible proof of the PPP/C Government’s commitment to resolving Guyana’s energy woes.
This project will bring clean, reliable, and affordable energy to the people of Guyana, a reality far removed from the chaos and darkness Patterson left in his wake.
Not satisfied with the abysmal failure in the power sector, Patterson attempts to drag civic organisations into his baseless narrative.
Between 2020 and 2024, Prime Minister Hon. Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Anthony Phillips and I have met with the leadership of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association (GMSA) to provide detailed updates on the challenges we face and the solutions we are implementing.
These organisations, unlike Patterson, understand the scale of the task at hand and have expressed their support for the Government’s forward-thinking, solution-oriented approach to rebuilding what was destroyed under the APNU+AFC’s disastrous reign.
Patterson’s laughable claim that the private sector, the chamber, and other civic organisations are “scared” to call out the Government reeks of desperation and delusion.
Guyanese and the world over and only too well aware that the APNU+AFC in which Patterson was a Minister presided over one of the most corrupt and ineffective governments this country has ever seen.
Instead of pointing fingers, Patterson should answer for the glaring incompetence, rampant corruption, and utter disregard for Guyana’s development that defined his time in office.
The PPP/C Government remains committed to fixing the broken power system left behind by the APNU+AFC by laying a strong foundation for a more reliable supply of electricity for all Guyanese.
Sincerely,
Deodat Indar, Minister
Deodat Indar, Minister
---
