Solomon says gov’t not handing over key documents
Narvon Persaud, Chairman of the Technical Committee reviewing the Linden Electricity Tariffs as part of the agreement between Government and Region 10 has resigned from the position.
In an email to other members of the technical committee on Monday, Persaud said, “Please be informed that I have resigned from this activity and wish to thank all of you for your kind assistance.” Efforts to reach Persaud yesterday for the reasons behind his resignation proved futile. The committee that was chaired by Persaud comprises Lloyd Rose, Haslyn Parris and Professor Clive Thomas, who were nominated by the opposition and Norman McLean, Bharat Dindyal, and Winston Brassington nominated by the government.
His departure will further delay resolution of the prime cause of the protests that erupted in Linden and led to the killing of three protesters on July 18.
Chairman of the Regional Democratic Council for Region Ten Kuice Sharma Solomon said that the committee has been experiencing problems from its inception, even though they had held meetings and had started working. Two weeks ago, Solomon described the pace of work of the technical committee as significant.
With the resignation of Persaud, movement on two of the more significant committees set up as part of the agreement between the Region and the Government has stalled. The Economic Committee is yet to have a Chairman, as the Opposition and Government have been back and forth with regard to nominees.
Documents
With regards to the Technical Review Committee, Solomon charged that the Government failed to make available documents requested by the region’s representatives on the Committee.
“The representatives of Region 10 have been insisting that the Terms of Reference of the Committee mandate it to enquire into all aspects of the electricity situation in Linden, including a review of the system of ownership and control of the generation, distribution, and the tariff setting structure to be used for electricity in Linden” and to make appropriate recommendations,” a statement from Solomon said. “The Government team’s approach has been to seek to debate the issue rather than investigate the electricity situation, unearth the facts, make appropriate recommendations based on the facts and let the chips fall where they may,” it continued.
The statement said that Region 10 “wishes to reaffirm its commitment to a thorough investigation of the electricity sector in Linden and to give positive consideration to the recommendations once they are in consonance with the Terms of Reference of the Technical Committee.”
The statement said that the Constitution of Guyana gives the right to the people of the Region to be involved in any decision that affects their lives and the Terms of Reference of the Technical Committee provide for the involvement of the people of Region 10 in the work of the Technical Committee.
“While Region 10 is adamant that the people of Region 10 must be consulted and be involved, the government representatives’ seem to have a different view and want to preclude the people of the Region from participating in the work of the Technical Committee. Region 10 will continue to insist that the people of Region 10 who are the key stakeholders must be involved and that the work of the Committee must proceed based on the Terms of Reference,” the statement said.
“Undertaking a professional review of the electricity sector in Linden demands that the relevant documentation be provided to the Committee. Unfortunately, documentation requested by Professor Clive Thomas as a representative of Region 10 has not so far been forthcoming,” the statement said.
According to the statement, the Region 10 representatives uncovered that the Power Purchase Agreement signed by the Government of Guyana with Bosai – the company producing power for Linden – is one of the weakest ones when compared with the hundreds found on global data bases. It said that this has resulted in “much discomfiture” to the representatives of the government.
“In the light of the weak Power Purchasing Agreement , the Region 10 representatives requested information on the expert that the government representatives claimed gave them advice and the relevant data on the distribution vis a vis the users of the power. This critical information has not been so far forthcoming and appears to have resulted in further discomfiture,” the statement said.
The Region 10 Adminis-tration also expressed its deep concern over what it said appears to be the threatened discontinuation of the process to find solutions to the problems of Linden and Region 10. “There is further concern that the government is failing to implement many aspects of the August 21st 2012 Agreement. The Region is demanding that the government hands over to the Region the TV dish and transmitter in keeping with the agreement, and convene a meeting so that the two sides could agree to a Chairman for the Economic Committee and ensure that its work can commence. The government is advised to remember its position that nothing is agreed until all is agreed,” the statement said.
“Region 10 wishes to reaffirm its commitment to the process of finding solutions to the problems of Region 10 in keeping with the August 21st 2012 agreement and urge the continuation of the implementation of the Agreement in both its letter and spirit,” the Region 10 statement said. The agreement established in addition to the technical review and economic committees, a commitment for the Region to have its own television station and a land selection committee to manage the distribution of lands. The agreement between the two sides came as part of the efforts to bring normalcy to the town, which saw violent protests against proposed escalations in electricity charges for Linden residents. The agreement sets out that the increases are on hold until the work of the technical committee is complete.
