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City Hall, abattoir, without electricity
as GPL disconnects municipal facilities
City Hall, the Municipal Abattoir and even the Liliendaal pump station were targets for disconnection yesterday when the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) reacted to the municipality’s failure to make payments towards a multi-million dollar electricity bill.
Chief Meat and Food Inspector, Jackdeep Singh, appeals to a GPL worker
City Hall, which is regarded as the nerve centre of the municipal operations, was the first location to be disconnected.
Some time after 11:00 hours a team of two was dispatched to City Hall and wasted no time stripping the facility of its electricity supply. The City Treasury Department among other crucial departments were affected as a result.
The Municipal Abattoir was next on the list. Despite the sincere pleas from Chief Meat and Food Inspector, Jackdeep Singh, for a half-an-hour stay, the disconnection team proceeded with its task.
The disconnection, according to Singh, resulted in the loss of the abattoir’s water supply which he noted could only serve to create a major hygienic catastrophe. At the time of the GPL move, about 50 bovines were already slaughtered, thus the request for a delay in the disconnection to allow the meat to be washed and the area sanitised.
On average, about 60 cattle are slaughtered on a daily basis, Singh said, an amount which usually increases significantly as the Christmas season approaches.
“This is really going to affect us. Because of this we cannot take in anymore animals for slaughtering. This means that we would definitely have to stop operation altogether,” Singh lamented.
He said that due to the situation, the sanitation team will have to resort to manual sanitation, utilising water from two 1,000-gallon tanks the abattoir possesses. Under the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01: “No person shall kill or slaughter any animal for human consumption at any place other than in a slaughter house established by the Council.” However, with the disconnection of the electricity this process will have to be discontinued.
The Liliendaal pumping station was the next location on the disconnection team’s list. A statement issued by the municipality stated that the pump accounts for drainage of all areas east of Sheriff Street, which represent about 60 percent of total drainage of the city.
“Should there be any heavy rains during this period sections of the city and along the East Coast of Demerara could experience heavy overtopping which could result in damage to properties and the general natural environment.”
Also disconnected yesterday were facilities attached to the Cemetery, the Solid Waste Management Department and the Municipal Mechanical Workshop.
The municipality stated that the Mayor and City Council is both surprised and shocked that GPL opted to disconnect electricity from vital municipal services in the city. “These services are critical to the well-being of the city and its populace.
The disconnection of power supply from these services would have enormous consequential implications on the public health, economics and security of the capital.”
It was highlighted that the services provided by the council are concerned with public health and the safety of the city.
The disconnection as a result would make the services unavailable to the general public and therefore put at risk the health and safety of the entire local communities and their residents, the statement added.
Municipal Public Relations Officer, Royston King, yesterday, underscored that the move engaged by GPL is nothing short of a disappointment. He said that the municipality was prepared to continue negotiations with GPL despite the fact that talks between the two entities last week failed to meet an agreement.
“GPL is claiming that City Hall owes about $600M but we are still in the process of reconciling this figure with our own accounts.
Our records show that they owe in excess of $700M inclusive of interest,” King disclosed. It was the expectation of the municipality, King said, that the meet with GPL would have seen the two parties being able to arrive at certain solutions in dealing with the debt situation.
Chief Executive Officer of GPL, Bharrat Dindyal, has however announced that GPL owes the municipality a mere $200M, adding that the municipality has not sought to pay its exorbitant electricity bill since October last year.
At that time Dindyal disclosed, that a sum of $7M was paid.
Meanwhile, this newspaper has learnt that efforts have been made by the municipality to secure an injunction in order to reverse the disconnection move.
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