The Government of Guyana is seeking $61 billion in supplementary funding and as the National Assembly’s Committee of Supply began its consideration on Wednesday, it was highlighted that extra funds are being sought to offset increased fuel costs at the Linden and Lethem power companies.
An additional $5 billion in funding is being sought for the Office of the Prime Minister and was the first to be examined when lawmakers gathered at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister’s Office received a total of $50.7 billion in the 2023 National Budget.
Under the 2023 budget, $4.9 billion was approved as subsidies and contributions to local organisations. That sum includes funds that went to both the Linden and Lethem power companies.
Now, an additional $927 million is being sought for the Linden Electricity Company Inc. ($663 million) and the Lethem Power Company Inc. ($264.7 million).
Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh explained that increased fuel costs at Linden and Lethem necessitated the request for supplementary funding. But this supplementary appropriation attracted numerous questions from the Parliamentary Opposition.
Opposition MP David Patterson asked why only the Linden and Lethem power companies are receiving extra funding and not other hinterland companies, such as the Mahdia, Mabaruma, or Port Kaituma companies. In response, Dr. Singh clarified that the government only received supplementary funding requests from the Linden and Lethem companies.
“We have received a request for supplementary appropriation from Linden and Lethem which we found to have merit and brought it to the House,” the Finance Minister said.
Patterson also queried whether the one megawatt solar power farm in Lethem, which was commissioned last year, did not help to offset some of the increased costs in that municipality.
Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar explained that though the intermittent solar power generated through that project helped to offset some of the mounting costs in Lethem, more funds are still needed for power generation at the substantive power generation plant. He clarified that the solar farm only provides supplemental power, generated during the daytime when the sun shines.
Beyond that, an additional $5 billion is sought for the Wales gas-to-energy project. Under Budget 2023, the Gas to Power project received a $43.3 million allocation.
Dr. Singh explained that the predominant use of the $5 billion will be to finance the establishment of the transmission and distribution network for this project.
In July, Kalpataru Projects International Limited (KPIL), an Indian company, secured the US$159.9 million engineering, procurement and construction contract to build the transmission lines and substations needed to distribute the power generated at the forthcoming Wales Gas-to-Energy project.
Dr. Singh acknowledged that other contracts were signed to advance the massive gas-to-energy project.
Additional funds for the National Data Management Authority (NDMA) and renewable energy projects were also sought. Throughout the day, the lawmakers are expected to scrutinise the additional funds being sought by several agencies.
