Mr. Seeram is entitled to his own opinion on the Linden protest, but not his own facts

Jul 31, 2012 Letters

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Dear Editor,
In Mr. Ralph Seeram’s futile attempt to frame the current Linden protest as an opposition-inspired exercise that is reminiscent of the opposition-led efforts of the sixties against the incumbent PPP regime, (“Does the opposition want to take Guyana back to the sixties?” KN, July 29), let me say he is entitled to his own opinion, but he is not entitled to his own facts when presenting his argument against the current Linden protest.
It is true that the opposition PNC and UF formed a coalition government to oust the PPP regime back in 1964, but that was an era of the Cold War that pitted the United States against the Soviet Union for global domination, and Guyana just happened to be caught in the crosshairs of the two superpowers.
Cheddi Jagan was an avowed communist while Forbes Burnham was a cunning opportunist, and the USA, determined not to have ‘another Cuba’ in its so-called backyard, sided with Burnham. The issue of race only came about because it was the most convenient excuse by both the PPP and PNC to rally supporters, but as far as the superpowers were concerned it essentially came down to the slogan: ‘by any means necessary’.
Therefore, anyone who tries to rewrite history to make it look like a race war between Indians and Blacks or the PPP and the PNC was at the core of the dark days of the sixties needs a reality check. And while I would never defend Burnham’s opportunistic strategy, I am hard pressed to even defend Jagan’s hold on power back in the sixties, given what we would eventually come to realize happened in communist countries.
No elections. No free press. No free travel. No freedom to form associations or to assemble and dictators who ran police states. That was the order of the day for countries aligned to the Soviet Union, and with which the Jagan regime was seeking to align itself.
Fast forward to today’s Linden protests and we see that, contrary to efforts by the PPP apologists to make it appear so, the issue of a race war is actually missing because the protest is being supported by both APNU and the AFC, with the latter party boasting supporters from the Indian community.
As for the protest, per se, Mr. Seeram has joined the ill-informed with this diatribe: “The AFC leaders, in particular, are wetting their pants with excitement over this tragedy, running around the country urging people to continue subsidizing electricity rates in Linden. Does the AFC think Guyanese are so stupid that they are going to support one section of the community to pay less electricity rates than they are paying? Do they really think they can get solidarity on that issue?”
Utter nonsense, Mr. Seeram! The fact of the matter is that the PPP regime gave the Linden power plant to Bosai, the Chinese owners/operators of the bauxite company in Linden, after the previous Texas-based contractors screwed up its operations and the government received a financial settlement, which many are still wondering where that money went.
The Chinese then decided to use the power plant for its bauxite operations and to also supply Lindeners with electricity, as was the tradition for decades. I don’t how the rates were arrived at between the PPP regime and the Chinese, but they resulted in Lindeners paying for electricity consumption and the regime ponying up the difference.
My understanding is that this deal was struck outside the purview of the Public Utilities Commission, which is the statutory body with oversight for setting rates other Guyanese pay to GPL. But while Bosai generated and supplied Lindeners with electricity, GPL generated and supplied the rest of the nation with electricity.
And since the two are completely separate, it was unfair for the government to rush with its claim that Linden should be paying the same amount like other Guyanese.
Moreover, Bosai seems to be doing a good job generating and supplying electricity to Lindeners, hence the potential for lower costs being passed on to Lindeners. GPL, on the other hand, has been having major operational cost problems, with one report stating it loses 40% of its electricity to theft and another report stating it rents CAT diesel generators at US$720,000 when the same generators can be bought for US$900,000.
Those combined high costs are being passed on to GPL customers in the form of higher rates, so not only is it unfair to ask Lindeners to pay the same rates as other Guyanese are paying the GPL, but other Guyanese should be fuming mad that the government is making them pay for GPL’s mismanagement and waste.
Finally, Mr. Seeram may know to write, but he is definitely not right in his surmising about the manner in which the government came to its decision to reduce the subsidy to Linden. Last October, then PPP candidate Donald Ramotar campaigned in Linden and told his audience that with the fruition of the Amaila Falls hydro project, the government will reduce its subsidy for Linden.
Then during the Budget debate, the parliamentary opposition, citing mismanagement and waste, decided to cut the GPL’s GY$3B budget by GY$1B, and the government retaliated by announcing it was reducing its electricity subsidy to Linden, even though GPL does not supply Linden with electricity. Why target Linden and no other community? Is it not because Linden voted overwhelmingly for APNU last November?
I pray for a speedy resolution to the Linden crisis, but I also pray more Guyanese are properly informed and stop spreading misinformation.
Emile Mervin

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