Lindeners vow to resist electricity tariff increase

Jul 02, 2012 News

Yesterday was July 1st, which for many Lindeners was certainly not a day to look forward to, but to be viewed with much trepidation and anxiety, because according to the last budget proposal, the Mining Town would no longer be enjoying the subsidy on electricity tariffs.
But Lindeners have vowed not to pay ‘a cent more’, not because they don’t want to, but because they can’t afford to, according to Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon.

Traffic held up by angry crowd during the protest yesterday.

That sentiment was reiterated by the massive crowd that converged outside the old Guyana Stores building (presently Toucan Call Centre) for the interfaith rally and peaceful protest where several religious leaders prayed for the Town and its people.
The Rally came on the heels of Thursday’s protest which saw a huge crowd protesting through the streets of Linden, and later assembling at the Mackenzie Market, where they were addressed by several speakers including Lincoln Lewis and the Regional Chairman.
The young, the old and even the infirm braved the sweltering heat and later a heavy downpour, to attend yesterday’s rally.
Residents on the Wismar Shore, moved off from the old Palm Tree Cinema Square, and trekked across the Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge, moving at almost snail’s pace.
They later met with their counterparts on the Mackenzie shore at Guyana Stores.
The crowd was so huge at this point that they formed a massive human barricade, effectively blocking traffic for almost two hours. Several buses bound for Georgetown had no alternative but to turn back to the park, after the people refused to budge.
Even the presence of several police ranks could not deter the people from blocking the traffic.
The religious leaders who had by this time taken up their positions and begun to pray, pleaded in vain for the people to “come off the streets”.
Several persons were also seen remonstrating with the determined people, including political activist Freddie Kissoon, Gerhard Ramsaroop and Mark Benschop.
Apart from the Religious leaders who prayed for “godly intervention”, the massive crowd of concerned residents was addressed by political activist David Hinds and Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon.
Hinds emphasized, “You are leading the way. You are leading the way, in what must be our final march to freedom. We’ve suffered too long in this country, and it’s high time that we declare our freedom!
And your standing here today is the highest and firmest declaration of freedom and Guyana must see and hear what Linden is doing and join you in this struggle. If we allow them to raise electricity, the next day it will be water, and the next day it will be food, and the next day, they will take everything away from us. And if and when we win this electricity, tomorrow we will win back our employment in Linden.”
Hinds emphasized that Guyana belongs to all its citizens and as such “all of us should partake in making decisions.
When you have people that were elected by 49% of the electorate deciding for Linden that did not vote for them, it is crying in the face of democracy, and you must not allow it to happen.
Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon said “I’ve kept my message consistent, it’s not that we’re unwilling to pay, it’s that we’re unable to pay, and unless this government can assure us, where in the economy of Linden, can we find one billion dollars in six months, then we will pay that. If they can’t say that to you, then they can’t justify that to you.
Ever since the increased electricity tariff was announced, Lindeners of all ages and every walk of life have acknowledged that they cannot deal with any increase.
Yesterday, this position was further solidified by the thousands who turned out at the rally.
For several senior citizens who were interviewed by this newspaper the cry was always the same, “How can we afford that on a pension of $10,000? What are we going to eat?”
The same refrain was repeated by single parents, who noted that they could hardly pay the current rates. “If we barely making it now, how we gon mek it when they increase? How we gon send we children to school? how dem gon eat?” one woman asked.
That sentiment was echoed by many others.
Lindeners have collectively vowed to continue to struggle ‘relentlessly ‘against what they consider to be an act of vengeance against them by an “uncaring Government that’s out to punish them”.