Word out of the National Assembly on Wednesday that government is holding to its budget decision to gradually remove the subsidy for electricity in Region 10 sparked another street protest in the mining town yesterday, this time with hundreds turning out.
They were addressed by APNU MP James Bond, trade unionist Lincoln Lewis, Regional Chairman Kuice Sharma Solomon and APNU Region 10 representative Vanessa Kissoon.
The demonstrators walked the usual route from the Linden Utility Services Co-op Society Limited (LUSCSL) on Burnham Drive, Wismar along the route to Mackenzie where they walked through the central business area before converging on the Linden Bus Park at the Mackenzie Market Square.
At this stage the large gathering was addressed and urged by Bond, Lewis, Solomon and Kissoon to be steadfast in their stand and to continue the protest until the government rescinds its position.
“What was presented Friday last in the parliament is a declaration of war against the suffering masses of this country,” Solomon told the people. At the time he was not only referring to the proposed removal of the subsidy for electricity in Linden but additionally the proposed pension increase and the income tax threshold.
He said that the national budget provided no relief for Region 10. “Now you could imagine giving persons who would have given their yeoman services to this country twenty dollars a day increase then we have past leaders supporting themselves with a hundred thousand dollars a day as pension,” Solomon remarked.
He added that it was the late president of Guyana, Dr. Cheddi Jagan who had said that development should carry a human face. This he noted to bring out the fact that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government has been advertising the extensive sums of monies that they were plugging into various sectors of Region 10, especially the Linden Economic Advancement Project (LEAP) which is now the Linden Enterprise Network (LEN), the water and electricity sectors.
According to Solomon a look around the various sections of Linden would show no evidence of economic development but the fact that hardship is ever visible in the town.
Analyzing the state of residents, Solomon referred to a statement by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds while he was defending the decision to remove the subsidy for electricity in Linden. “The prime minister by his own admission yesterday said that in the past 90% of the homes in Region 10 had persons employed by the bauxite industry and that was then….. now this is reality – where are we going to find three billion dollars, is it going to come from agriculture expansion, is it going to come from manufacturing, where are we going to say in the economy of Region 10 three billion dollars is there that we could take and pay as subsidy?,” Solomon questioned.
“You have not given us anything in the past decade and you want to take from us three billion dollars and I want us to understand that we are not going to relent,” Solomon maintained.
Solomon also warned residents that if they should relent now they would have no one but themselves to blame if the government of the day institutes the hike in the electricity tariff as proposed in the national budget presentation.
Parliament in the street
He called on residents to continue to hold their ‘Parliament in the Street’ while the politicians do their part within the walls of Parliament Building, and urged that they turn out in their numbers at the Palm Tree Cinema Square tomorrow where a community meeting will be convened.
Meanwhile, at the meeting in Linden tomorrow it is expected that chartered accountant Christopher Ram, and APNU MP and Shadow Finance Minister Carl Greenidge, among others, will address residents.
According to Solomon the presenters are expected to provide information on how much the country makes, what percentage represents the contribution of Region 10 and the likely effects an increased electricity tariff would have on Linden.
Lewis spent some time tracing the history of electricity produced in Linden, the entitlement of residents and reasons why residents should not sit idly by and allow the tariff to be imposed on them. He reminded them of mistakes they made in the past and why they should not stoop to faint promises.
No committee
“Don’t let them tell you to form no committee here,” advised Lewis. He was referring to protests led by residents in the past, specifically at the time when they blocked the Mackenzie/Bridge to protest over electricity, water, government’s TV monopoly, and a number of other issues.
At that time former President Bharrat Jagdeo had called on residents to form several committees and this was followed by a number of closed door meetings which bore no fruit.
APNU MP Bond accused the government of mismanaging GPL by renting generators at exorbitant rates, among other things. “When they gonna increase electricity bills without giving you proper jobs, without giving you proper facilities to take care of your families …….. we cannot have that. APNU will not support any increase because we find that this government instead of doing good they are doing what is worse for Guyana and Region 10 has been suffering for too long.”
Bond asked about the 1,000 jobs that were promised to residents of Linden by President Ramotar during the 2011 General and Regional elections campaign.
Like the other speakers Bond insisted that Linden residents cannot be made to pay the same rates for electricity as Georgetown customers and he maintained that electricity in the town has to be subsidized.
Leaders of the protest said that following tomorrow’s meeting they will be taking to the streets again next Wednesday and thereafter they would be strategizing to take the demonstration to Georgetown.
A number of other forms of protests are also expected to be staged during the opening of the Linden Town Week activity on Sunday, April 22.
In the meantime, residents are calling on the business sector of Linden to close their doors for at least two hours on Wednesday as a demonstration of solidarity.
