Representatives of the government and the Region 10 Regional Democratic Council (RDC) met on Friday and came closer to finalising the chairpersons of two key committees established under the agreement signed over seven months ago to end the Linden protests, Chairman of the Region 10 RDC Sharma Solomon says.
“We met last Friday and went through the chairpersons for the two committees – the Technical Review Committee and the Economic Review Committee,” Solomon told Stabroek News.
Joycelyn Williams, he noted, is the region’s pick to be the chairperson of the Economic Review Commit-tee. She seems to have found favour with both sides, he said, but she would only consider the post if it is agreed that the Committee be given an extended timeline with which to work. “She needs six months…only on that condition will she participate, so there must be an extension,” said Solomon.
He said that the same principle will be applied to the Technical Review Committee. “Once we settle on a chairman, we will want an extension. By the second week in April, the two committees should be functioning.
He said, however, that the parties are still to settle on a chairman for the Technical Review Committee. He added that while the region’s nominee is Charles Ceres, the government has asked the region to look again at Clinton Williams. Another person of interest in the mix for the chairmanship of that committee is Earl John.
The Economic Committee is 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.
The Technical Review Committee, meanwhile, is tasked with reviewing the existing provision and consumption of electricity in Linden and to consider arrangements to provide electricity to the Linden community and the tariffs to sustain such arrangements within a sustainable time frame. The government and the region have been seeking to identify a new chairperson since the resignation of Narvon Persaud in October last year.
Solomon said that the work of the two committees has taken on greater importance since the reading of the national budget one week ago. He said that the region is soon to put out a statement on its impressions of the budget and what it means for the region. This year’s budget restores in full the electricity subsidy to Linden and Kwakwani, the bone of contention which lead to the protests in which three persons were shot to death on July 18, 2012. Government said that the matter of removing any part of the subsidy will be addressed only after the completion of the work of the Technical Review Committee tasked with looking at the electricity rates and the impact of its adjustment on the communities of Region 10.
On the Land Selection Committee, which was also part of the agreement signed between the two sides, Solomon said that the region now has to submit to government the terms of reference for the functioning of the body so that all recommendations for land use come through the RDC. He said that these TORs will be submitted in another two weeks.
As part of the agreement as well the government and Region 10 agreed that the dish and transmitter that were given to the Linden community would be handed over to the RDC and that Region 10 would apply for a broadcasting licence and the government would facilitate the granting of that licence in keeping with the law.
Solomon said the region is confident of commencing its television programming in a matter of weeks as it has all of the necessary hardware in place. “We got the impression that there is a sincere desire on the part of government to ensure that the region receive its licence,” he explained, while noting that the region was prepared to pursue its television quest with or without the government.
“The region is at the moment preparing its submissions to the government [regarding the applications for the television licence]. If the government is as sincere as it purports, the region expects to have everything in another two weeks,” he added.
He said that the region has most of the necessary hardware for the commencement of the operation of the television station. “The majority of the technical equipment has been acquired and the building is about 60 percent completed, “he said.
“We are looking to start broadcasting… we already have established programming,” he said, adding that an independent committee has been put together to manage programming. The parties are to meet again in mid-April.
