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week ending august 11, 2013 | guyanatimeSinternational.com
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EDITORIAL
Building Brand Guyana
W
hatever doubts might have existed in the minds of some about the viability of the Twenty20 (T20) cricket franchise model of the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL), as far as gaining acceptance in the minds of the fans, have now been comprehensively dissipated. In terms of viability from a financial standpoint, that will be determined after all the dust (and fireworks) have settled, but in the meantime, the franchise owners and other corporate sponsors have held back nothing in their efforts to make the tournament a success. Up to now, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has set the bar in T20 cricket, but with eight games under its belt at this time, the Limacol CPL has shown it can organise a competition just as professional and exciting, if not better, than the IPL. There are two reasons for this happy circumstance. As was pointed out by the owner of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, T20, as conceptualised, is fundamentally the game as it was always played in Guyana and the Caribbean. In that sense, T20 cricket was finally being “brought back home”. No one had to tell the West Indies fans to be passionately involved in what was going on on the field. And for sure, not to have a “ball” (pun intended) off the field. But all of this would have been known by cricket aficionados across the world, when they dubbed and embraced our game as “calypso cricket”. The doubts prompted by financial and logistical challenges in past endeavours would have to be overcome if the joint endeavour of an all-Caribbean tournament was to be a success. After all, in over a half a century of trying, the governments of the region had been unable to initiate and pull off an event of this magnitude. The Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA), which is one attempt in this direction, has remained a low-key affair, not really engaging the masses, or showcasing our culture to the wider world. Even in the world of business, there have been no collaborative efforts in the past to match the vision of Limacol CPL. The financial support secured by the league demonstrates that in the modern globalised and financially liberalised environment, capital for such a venture can be raised once the product is shown to be marketable. And Caribbean cricket is eminently marketable. In this regard, Guyana can be very proud that a local corporation, NEW GPC INC, bit the bullet and put its money where its mouth was when they purchased the Guyana Amazon Warriors. They were also the very first purchaser of a franchise in the Limacol CPL. Local sponsors quickly followed and all aspects of the marketing of the venture were nailed down. Volunteers were recruited and trained to ensure that once inside the stadium, the fans would be well taken care of with directions, flags, whistles and horns. The stands were sold out for every game – and demonstrated to the world that Guyana was “cricket crazy”. Fireworks, tassa and masquerade bands, dancing damsels, pulsating music and running commentary – and even a roaming “warrior” in full regalia – kept the stadium rocking and behind their team. The only blot on the event was the traffic organisation. The Guyana traffic police will have to do a more effective job next year. While there were a large number of bodies deployed at the event, it became obvious that whatever plan was in place (and we are assuming there was one), there was a need to modify it to match the conditions on the roads. Without any intent to insult the Police Traffic Department, we suggest that they ask the organisers of the Limacol CPL to bring in some experts in crowd logistics to assist them in a structured planning and deployment of manpower. In the meantime, the NEW GPC and “business Guyana” can take a bow for building “Brand Guyana”.
The coaching staff and players of the Guyana Amazon Warriors witness their captain Ramnaresh Sarwan making a financial contribution to the administrator of the Children's Convalescent Home, Erwin Enmore on Tuesday
Amaila will result in lasting and profound benefits for Guyana – Sithe Global President By Brian Kubeck, President, Sithe Global
S
ithe Global would like to thank the members of Parliament and the members of the Guyanese public that attended our Amaila Falls Hydropower Project information workshops, which were conducted on July 31. We further express our appreciation to all Guyanese supporters and opponents alike, who have a stake in ensuring that the country makes an informed decision about proceeding with the project. The extensive public dialogue was evidence of your vibrant democracy and commitment to a comprehensive understanding of the project. Sithe Global strongly believes that the project will have lasting and profound benefits for the country by delivering improved electricity reliability and cost savings versus the status quo. The math is simple. In 2012, the cost of the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) generating electricity was over 19 U. S. cents/ kilowatt hour (kWh). This price is amongst the highest prices paid for generated power in any part of the world. Government subsidies currently reduce the ultimate impact on the tariff paid by GPL customers, but these subsidies come from your tax dollars. In its first 12 years of operation, the Amaila project is expected to generate savings of 40 per cent or nearly US$ 1 billion (G$ 200 billion) compared to GPL’s 2012 cost, as the project’s tariff is expected to average approximately 11 U. S. cents/ kWh. In years 13 to 20 of operation, the Amaila project is expected to generate savings of 70 per cent or US$ 1.15 billion (G$ 230 billion) compared to GPL’s 2012 cost, as the project’s tariff is expected to av-
erage approximately 5.5 U. S. cent/ kWh. After year 20, the project is transferred to Guyana for free and will generate savings for Guyanese ratepayers of over 90 per cent or nearly US$ 15 billion (G$ 3 trillion) over the remaining 80-year life of the project compared to GPL’s 2012 costs, as operating costs are expected to average less than two U. S. cents/ kWh. All of the above assumes that fuel costs never go up for the next 100 years. If fuel prices do go up, the savings go up further. The analysis further ignores the secondary benefits of cheap, reliable electricity, which will support higher growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Guyana. The Amaila tariffs calculated above are in accordance with the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between GPL and Amaila Falls Hydro Inc, which is consistent with the project costs presented to the public last week. Our public presentation is available on our website (www. amailahydropower.com) and we encourage you to view it. A number of additional questions have been raised subsequent to our workshop. As a result, we have started a question and answer page on the website. If you have a question about the project that has not already been posted, please email it to info@ amailahydropower.com. Sithe Global has spent six years and US$ 16 million to develop this project because we believe that it will be transformational for Guyana in many ways. In addition to providing reliable electricity and substantial cost savings, the project will generate hundreds of local jobs, having a significant economic impact on the country. The project has been vetted by numerous third-party firms and has been determined to be
Guyana’s “least cost” power option. Bids were sought and received in a transparent and fair process by five international construction firms with the lowest cost contractor, China Railway chosen. The technical development of the project is done – design drawings supporting the start of construction are complete and have been reviewed by two independent parties, including MWH Global, one of the world’s leading hydropower design firms, in addition to China Railway. The InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) and China Development Bank (CDB) are completing due diligence and preparing to seek final internal approvals by the end of October. However, Sithe Global cannot continue its development efforts without the same level of commitment from our partners in Guyana. We can only proceed further if there is uniform consensus in Parliament that you support this project. Without such consensus, Sithe Global will be forced to withdraw. This is simply an acknowledgement that, after US$ 16 million and six years of intense effort by Sithe Global to progress the project, the country is not prepared to proceed. The unfortunate consequence is that it would be many years before any similar project could be resurrected and, as such, Guyana would remain saddled with a 19 U. S. cent cost of power and complete exposure to fuel price swings for imported oil. It would be our honour to work with Guyana to carry through this important public- private partnership, if we have the collective support of our future partners. We hope you are willing to take this momentous step towards securing reliable, low-cost energy that will help fuel Guyana’s economy for generations to come.