Opposition member and former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson believes the government needs to take politics out of the operations of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc, for there to be better functionality.
Patterson made his contentions on this matter known during the Alliance for Change (AFC)’s press conference yesterday. There, he cited the steady blackouts that have been ongoing for quite some time. “Over the last three months, well longer than that, the country has been experinecing daily power outages which indicate that GPL is experiencing sever technical challenges,” he pinpointed.
He also slammed the government’s operation of the agency, noting that daily blackouts do not harbour well for a country that boasts of being the fastest-growing economy in the world. Patterson further noted that “The AFC holds the view (that) there is now (a) need to take politics out of the operations of GPL and agree on what is best for this nation.” He was keen to note that despite the statistics that show great prospects for Guyana, the country’s real development will continue to be negatively impacted if the government fails to improve the management of GPL.
“GPL needs better technical management and not political management,” he opined, adding that “our citizens who live in the fastest growing economy deserve to have a dependable supply of electricity daily.” He asserted that reliable electricity should not be seen as a privilege, but a basic requirement.
Last year, Patterson had recommended an overhaul of the systems used by GPL to bring a resolution to the country’s electricity woes. He had admitted that under the Partnership for National Unity+ Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration, there were blackouts, but the frequency was significantly reduced due to a careful analysis of GPL’s systems.
