EEC Helps GEC with Crisis

The European Economic Community is rushing in ‘ spares’ for the Guyana Electricity Corporation’s Kingston Power Station and is financing the work programme of at least six consultants on temporary attachments to the corporation.

Jean-Claude Heyraud, the EEC’s Georgetown Mission Chief, told Stabroek News this week, the Community is spending US$100,000 ( 89,000 ECUs) to provide spares and to take care of the attachment of the consultant under a technical assistance arrangement.

“The spares are being rated as an emergency. We talked with the government shortly after the problem on January 8. You can say that it is coming even quicker than emergency aid,” Heyraud said.

SPARES The consultants are from Foster Wheeler Power Products, GEC Turbines and NEI Pebles They are assessing the performance of the steam boilers, the Kingston turbines and the Sophia Conversion station.

They will tell us what spares to bring in, based on what they see and we will move quickly.”

Heyraud said the spares the EEC will supply will supplement those on order through the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) which is engaged in a US$19m rehabilitation of the Kingston station and several diesel facilities around the country. Corporation sources say delays in the programme have already resulted in cost overruns.

“We are doing it in cooperation with the IDB,” he said, emphasising that the government’s request is being treated as an urgent one by the mission’s Georgetown office. COLIN KLASS was last Sunday elected President of the Guyana Football Association GFA) as the organisation seeks to take the game out of its many problems.

However, Klass is optimistic that the new executive will take up the challenges which include indebtedness to FIFA, the world body governing football; resuscitation of the Berbice Sub-Association and expand the game to attract wider participation locally.

At last Sunday’s Annual General Meeting held at GNCB Sports Club on Croal Street, several observers turned up at the venue expecting “fireworks” following the Georgetown Football League’s meeting two Sunday’s ago which had some controversial incidents, however it was not to be.

The enquiry why the national football squad was not in training was the hottest part of the meeting.