The Linden Evangelical Ministries Fellowship (LEMF) has urged government to hold consultations with the people of Region 10 on the electricity hikes, which they warn will cause the collapse of the region.
In a statement issued yesterday, signed by Reverend Leroy James, the LEMF said that as a body of the Christian Fraternity, it rejected the government’s decision on several grounds, including the absence of consultation with the stakeholders of the community, which it argued makes the proposed hike bad in principle.
The mining communities of Region 10 were met with an increase in electricity tariffs from July 1, 2012, as a result of a decision by government to gradually phase out its subsidy for power in the region due to the high cost. The move has seen protests in Linden and in the city.
But LEMF argued that Linden does not have the means to pay the electricity hike and that the increased tariff will destroy the fabric of society, while calling the decision “inhumane and oppressive.”
“To support the implementation of the proposed rates, will lead to the total collapse of Region 10,” the statement said, while urging the government, through its representative, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, to hold consultations with the people of Region 10. “We support all measures aimed at energy conservation, including the use of energy saving bulbs,” LEMF added.
During the budget debates, Prime Minister Hinds announced that government would have been removing the subsidy for electricity tariffs in Linden since it had become unsustainable.
Amid subsequent talks between the government and APNU, Hinds told Parliament that APNU had agreed to a phased increase of tariffs for Linden. This fuelled heated protests in Linden against the hikes, which saw APNU leaders rushing up to the mining town to give the assurance that they had not approved the hikes.
This year’s budget made a provision of $1.865 billion as a subsidy to Linden’s consumption of electricity, which was a reduction from almost $3 billion last year. The Prime Minister said that even with the new rates, the provision of electricity in the town will still be subsidised.
He said the aim of the government is to remove the subsidy in a phased manner by the time the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric project is operating. But he warned that should fuel prices escalate, it could mean a further hike in prices.
