Residents of Mabaruma and other surrounding communities in the Region One area on Thursday protested against the unstable electricity supply as well as other issues facing the sub-region.
Mabaruma has been without electricity for several weeks – an occurrence which has been ongoing since last year – and over three dozen residents came out to picket the offices of the regional administration. They also voiced concerns over other issues, including the dilapidated condition of the community’s secondary school.
According to reports, soon after working hours commenced on Thursday, more than three dozen residents lined up in front of the regional offices and called on the local authorities to address the electricity issue. The protestors said that the problem has been on-going for some time and the authorities appeared unconcerned over the plight faced by persons in sourcing fuel to power generating sets while many households are also inconvenienced by the lack of electricity.
No one at the regional administration was available for comment Thursday but APNU parliamentarian Richard Allen told Stabroek News that the problem is not new and while monies were approved in the National Assembly to fix it, the matter remains unsolved. He said that the cost to install the generating set is more than the $16M paid by the government for the equipment.
Allen explained that the Local Government Ministry sought approval from Parliament this year for monies to be spent to install the new generating system at the Mabaruma powerhouse. He said that the monies were approved but nothing has been done. “The Ministry of Local Government must tell this nation what happened to the money that was passed in the Parliament to install the generator,” he emphasized.
Allen explained that the 750KVA generating set was purchased since last year and took months before eventually arriving in the region. Stabroek News had reported that the generator was sitting on the KMC wharf at Kumaka awaiting relocation to the Mabaruma powerhouse within the first quarter of this year
According to Allen, the generator was taken to Mabaruma and several months later, it was realized that it was costly to install the new system. He said that the region employs the services of an engineer who would have been expected to make an assessment to determine the relevant cost factors before the generating set was purchased. The MP said that at the moment, the region does not have the finances to install the set and government will have to find an additional sum of money to do so.
Stabroek News was told that the authorities were making valiant attempts on Wednesday to prevent residents from carrying out the picketing exercise on Thursday but residents expressed disgust at the on-going situation with many citing the significant cost attached to purchasing fuel for their small generating sets.
The communities within the Mabaruma sub-region have been without electricity for more than a month following the break-down of the older generating set there. Persons at Mabaruma reported to Stabroek News last month that the problematic generating set which also broke down for more than a month earlier this year, was being repaired. However, the technicians pointed to a snag where sourcing the relevant parts is concerned.
It was reported too that the generator was being incorrectly switched on by the staff and electricity was being fed directly to the grid rather than a connecting switch. This may have played a key role in the generator experiencing a series of mechanical problems in recent months.
Stabroek News understands that Local Government Minister, Ganga Persaud and team of officials were expected to travel to Mabaruma yesterday to discuss the electricity issue among others, with residents.
