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At the site, preparatory work, including the driving of piles and the installation of transmission lines,  are ongoing.

Speaking to the News Room at the site, GPL’s Berbice Zone Manager Ravindra Jagnanan said the power ship will take up its final position on Sunday after which works will begin to connect it to the national grid.

“The power ship is here.

“Once the ship is docked, the final stage would be to connect the ship to the network. When that is done we have a little bit of maintenance more to do on our transmission line and then we could inject power into the power grid,” Jagnanan explained.

The connection process, Jagnanan said, should take about two days.

However, he pointed out that if the rain persists, it can hinder the process.

The power ship arrived with about 100 meters of cable. This, Jagnanan said, will be used to make the necessary connection to GPL’s transmission line structure.

“Our network will be able to take off and utilise all of the power from the ship,” he said.

Prior to the arrival of the vessel, Jagnanan further explained that the team has been working “assiduously” to get all the preparatory works completed.

“We would have started with the pile driving process to secure and moor the vessel because the stability is paramount to the operation,” he noted.

Another important aspect of the works, Jagnanan, said is to ensure that there is “enough” lighting in the compound at Everton to ensure “proper” secutiry of the power ship and the crew.

“We have been really working to get things done. The weather did pose some challenges butthanks to the teams who are fully committed to execute their mandate,” he said.

“In just more than three years, your party, this PPP/ government, has brought back 60,000 new jobs to the people of this country.

“We have reopened the sugar estates, we have brought back more than 7000 sugar workers… and by the end of this year, we will double the number of workers in the bauxite industry,” Dr. Ali said.

Not only in the sugar or agricultural sectors but the President also believes that the country, generally, is performing much better now. He said the PPP brought back “hope, aspirations, vision and ideas” to Guyanese.

The management of the sugar industry is serious business locally. The former APNU+AFC government opted to shut down four sugar estates and send home thousands of sugar workers as part of efforts to “right size” the industry.

The PPP, contrastingly, believes that efforts to sustain and revitalise the industry are important since sugar is a major crop for Guyana, and the industry employs thousands of people, thereby serving people’s needs too.

At the opening of the congress, President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) Seepaul Narine said the union remains committed to working alongside the government to develop the sector and the lives of workers.

“Our union is ready to collaborate with the government in enhancing labour rights, ensuring fair wages, promoting sustainable agriculture, and fostering economic growth among other things.

“We believe that the key to building a more equitable and prosperous Guyana lies in working together to uplift the marginalised, empower the disadvantaged, and create a society where every citizen can thrive and prosper,” Narine said.

Dr. Jagdeo said the party was created by Dr. Cheddi Jagan as a pro-poor, pro-working class body that would help unite people. And today, he believes many people embrace the party because of what it has been doing.

In fact, he highlighted that about one-thirds of the approximately 3,000 delegates at this weekend’s congress are Indigenous Guyanese. Further, Jagdeo said more mixed-race and Afro-Guyanese are openly supporting the party.

So he said, “Cheddi Jagan if he was standing here, he would’ve been the proudest person here as I am.”

He later added, “Cheddi Jagan always wanted this because he knew this part would be invincible if this part reflected the whole gamut of this country… and it is happening today.”

Similar sentiments were echoed by Guyana’s President, Dr. Irfaan Ali who spoke just before Jagdeo. The Guyanese Head of State rejected allegations of discrimination levelled against the PPP, noting that regional budgetary allocations alone show that the party is investing heavily everywhere.

Meanwhile, Jagdeo also believes the party has demonstrated that it is serious about supporting young people. Evidencing this, he said, is the fact that both he and President Ali served the government from a very young age.

“… we’ve always given young people not just lip service, we’ve trained them, we’ve included them, and when necessary, elevated them to the highest office,” he said.

Following the opening ceremony, Jagdeo is expected to present his report to the congress. There are also 93 people vying for a spot on the party’s Central Executive Committee, the highest-decision making body.