Patterson blasts Govt. over electricity woes

(Kaieteur News) – Former Minister of Public Works, David Patterson has criticised the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) administration for the current state of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Company, calling the nation’s power woes nothing short of inexcusable.

Patterson asserted, “The excuses offered for the country’s electricity woes have been endless. At various times, blame has been placed on excavator operators, erratic donkey-cart drivers, climate change, the war in Ukraine, increased use of air-conditioning units, animals of various sorts, and of course, the previous administration. At no point has the PPP acknowledged that the state of the electricity sector is a direct consequence of its own incompetence, non-strategic management and questionable procurement practices.”

In a letter to the editor expressing his frustration, the former minister said that the government has proven itself to be completely clueless and wholly incompetent in managing the country’s electricity sector. “It has now been more than six years since the PPP returned to office, yet the power sector and its service to Guyanese has deteriorated at the fastest rate seen in the last two decades. Upon returning to office in 2020, the government sought to place all blame for the sector’s problems on the previous administration.”