Linden not under curfew…Brassington, McLean named to Linden electricity review team

Aug 17, 2012 News

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– President apologises for not visiting

Government has named a team to review the electricity situation in Linden.
During a surprise visit to the community yesterday as tensions remained high and members of the security forces hover in the background, Presidential Advisor on Governance, Gail Teixeira, disclosed to residents that the seven-member team, including three from the region, has been formed.

Professor Clive Thomas, former Deputy Prime Minister, Haslyn Parris and Lloyd Rose will be representing the region while Chairman of the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL), Winston Brassington, Chief Executive Officer, Bharrat Dindyal and former army chief, Norman McLean, will be on behalf of the Government.
The special committee will examine critical issues like generation, distribution, conservation, tariff and subsidy and they will liaise with each other every two weeks.
The team was agreed on Wednesday evening during a meeting with Regional Chairman, Sharma Solomon, and his team during a meeting held at the Office of the President.
According to Teixeira, soon the community will be able to submit applications to the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority board for television licences.
Teixeira, speaking to a poor turnout of Lindeners at the Watooka House, also announced that Sherwood Lowe has been nominated by Opposition Leader, David Granger,
to sit on the board.

TV licences
She said that the President is about ready to start establishing the Broadcast Authority board which overlooks the processing of TV licences.
“The government has committed to this and we have no objections to them acquiring the necessary equipment so the region will be free to submit documentation application… all in keeping with the broadcast laws and guidelines.”
Issues raised at the meeting also included jobs and land distribution.
Meanwhile, the President assured the small gathering that it was always on his agenda to visit the community but he did not want his visit to be used as an occasion for more persons to be injured.
Ramotar told the gathering, which comprised more members of the media than residents, that he and his government are hurt by the killing of the three Lindeners on July 18th. He also took the opportunity to express his condolences to the relatives of the slain men.
“There has been word that I didn’t want to come to Linden but I always wanted to come and I made an attempt to come about three Saturdays ago on July 28th but I didn’t want people to use the opportunity to mobilize and block the road, and I thought I didn’t want my visit to be used as occasion to have anyone getting hurt.”

No curfew
The President also insisted that the community was not under a curfew. This was in response to questions from members of the media who informed the President that residents said they are being ordered off the roads after a certain hour by ranks of the Joint Services.
Also responding to questions about his satisfaction with the Police’s probe into the killing of the three Lindeners, the President said he will not sanction the way the police should do their job, especially in light of the fact that they have been in existence for over 100 years. The Head of State added that he has confidence in the inquiry which will be held into the killings.
While the President and his team said their visit to the mining community was extensively announced, some residents are of the view that it was a ‘pop in surprise’. The Presidents told media operatives that his visit was advertised on the television as well as the radio.
He however noted that the poor turnout was a result of a Blackberry message which was circulated earlier in the day before his arrival in Linden.
The message -”LINDENERS: this is the ultimate protest, DO NOT GIVE THE PRESIDENT A HEARING, let him speak to the bridge and the roads he so cares about, let him speak to the shells littered on the road and the coward police officers that shot innocent people, do not picket him, do not heckle him, run from him like he has the plague…please rebroadcast.”
The President lamented the fact that there was noise about him not visiting the restive community and now that he has reached out to the community the people were not ready to hold discussions.
Some residents insisted that that it was the Joint Services who were preventing persons from entering Watooka House to attend the meeting.
The President’s visit came some 29 days after the crisis in the community started, resulting in three Lindeners – Ron Somerset, Shemroy Bouyea and Allan Lewis being shot and killed.
Dozens of other persons have also been injured during confrontations with the Joint Services.
Several buildings, including a school and other government buildings, have also been damaged during the protest which the Government has given an undertaking to fix.
The protest action was sparked by a proposed electricity hike tariff which has been suspended.

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