Chairman of the Region 10 Regional Democratic Council, Sharma Solomon says that the region and Government are to meet tomorrow to settle on names for the chairmanship of various committees set up as part of the August deal to end the Linden electricity protests.
The discussions will also address the finalisation of the television channel for Region 10.
Speaking to this newspaper yesterday, Solomon said that the meeting set for Friday had been pushed back to tomorrow for reasons he did not want to disclose. “I prefer to wait until after the meeting on Tuesday at the Office of the President. We have to get names to them,” he said, referring to the team from the Government.
“The Region is concerned that the Government shows sincerity in terms of the agreement [of August 21, 2012]. It is in the spirit of the agreement for Linden to have a television station owned by the people,” he said.
“Government should adhere to the agreement and return the television station to Linden. We have done all that is necessary [in preparation for the operation of the television station,” the Regional Chairman said.
In addition to this, Solomon said that Chairman of the Guyana National Broadcast Authority Bibi Shadick informed the Region that they were aware of the Region’s application for a television licence and that they will have a meeting to examine it tomorrow.
Solomon lamented that the parties are way behind what the agreement stipulates in terms of the implementation of various segments of it. “We are very late in relation to the agreement. [Many aspects] are very much overdue,” Solomon said.
According to the agreement, the Government and Region 10 agreed that the dish and transmitter that were given to the Linden Community would be returned to the Region 10 Regional Democratic Council. It said that the dish and transmitter should be transferred to the Region within 14 days of the signing of this Agreement and that the Region 10 will apply for a broadcasting licence and the Government will facilitate the granting of that licence in keeping with the law. Nothing has happened in this respect so far.
Speaking at a post-Cabinet meeting on Friday, acting Cabinet Secretary Gail Teixeira said that officials of Region 10 and representatives of the Government at their last meeting on December 7, 2012 agreed to “clean the slate” of all proposed chairpersons of the various committees and start the process afresh “with names of people that will find favour with both parties.”
The delegation for the meeting included Solomon, Aubrey Norton and Vanessa Kissoon for Region 10 and Teixeira, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn and Presidential Advisor Odinga Lumumba.
“If we really want to get these committees functioning and the chairpersons in place, we have to start out on what is the principle that is enshrined in our constitution – that is – of not putting up names that are unacceptable to the other side,” said Teixeira in a Government Information Agency press release.
The Economic Committee was to be tasked with examining all studies, all plans, all sectors and their resources in use, new resources and human resources and developing a sustainable development plan for Linden and Region 10.
It is also supposed to review all economic initiatives, including LEAP and LEN, with the aim of gleaning the lessons to be learnt from these initiatives and make recommendations for new ones. It will look at Linden and Region 10′s facilities and capacity for food self sufficiency and to the extent feasible develop a plan for self sufficiency as part of the Regional Development Plan.
The committee is supposed to examine the employment situation of Linden in particular and Region 10 in general and make appropriate
recommendations. It is also tasked with reviewing the existing framework within which private investment is attracted to Linden and Region 10 and make the appropriate recommendations. It will seek to identify the issues as they relate to policies, administrative capacity, skills development, investment climate etc.
The Economic Committee was supposed to be reporting to the two sides monthly and to present its final report within 90 days. This timeframe has long gone.
The Economic Committee should comprise seven persons, three persons nominated by each side and an agreed on Chairperson. According to the agreement, the names should have been submitted by the two sides within seven days and subsequent to that, the chairperson would have been appointed by the two sides within three days.
The Technical Committee whose Chairman Narvon Persaud quit for undisclosed reasons is also up for discussion as to who would be the new Chairman.
Members of that committee had met on at least five occasions and there had been some movement before Persaud stepped down. It had comprised Lloyd Rose, Haslyn Parris and Professor Clive Thomas, who were nominated by Region 10 and Norman McLean, Bharat Dindyal, and Winston Brassington nominated by the government.
The technical committee was tasked with reviewing the existing provision and consumption of electricity in Linden, including the history, the costs, the tariff structure, and the subsidies; considering arrangements to provide electricity to the Linden community and the tariffs to sustain such arrangements within a sustainable time frame; examining Region 10′s economic circumstances inclusive of the affordability of increased cost; looking at the advantages and disadvantages of the integration of the supply of electricity in the Linden area into the national grid; and, making recommendations on cost saving measures and options for alternative energy, including the facilitation of conservation education and conservation.
This committee was also supposed to be reporting to the two sides on a fortnightly basis and was to present its final report within 60 days.
Another product of the agreement, the land selection committee, while established still needs the PPP/C and the AFC to submit names of persons to sit on that committee. Solomon had said that the Terms of Reference have been crafted and the Region now has the legal authority to ensure that all land issues are channelled through this committee, whose membership includes the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, the Guyana Forestry Commission and the Central Housing and Planning Authority.
