Wauna electrification project hangs in the balance

Aug 16, 2023 News

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…Residents protest, call on police to investigate CDC Chair, Council

Kaieteur News – Residents of the remote community of Wauna in the Mabaruma sub-region on Monday protested what they considered to be “glaring” acts of corruption in the community.

The residents allege that millions of dollars are unaccounted for under an electrification project in the community and are calling on the government to investigate the matter.

“We want justice”, “Price for wire, sounds too high” and “We want transparency” were among the chants of a group of residents who braved the sun with their placards while walking through the sprawling community to vent their frustration over the issue on Monday.

The monies are part of the Carbon Credit Fund which was allocated to Indigenous communities by the government to implement projects that would aid their development. The government sourced the funding from selling Guyana’s carbon credits.

Earlier this year, $18M was allocated to Wauna to aid its developmental projects. The Community Development Council (CDC) set aside $15M for the electrification project but on Tuesday, the Council was forced to meet to discuss the funds and the concerns raised by the residents who protested on Monday.

It was reported during the meeting that Councillor Mike Adams along with two businessmen purchased the wires to be used in the project for $5M. The wires were to be used to connect the homes at Wauna to the electrical grid. However, during the meeting on Tuesday, it was confirmed that there was no more money for the project.

“What did they do with all that money,” a resident questioned.

Additionally, a CDC member recalled that when the body met earlier this year, a decision was taken on the quality of wires needed to execute the project. However, the wire that Adams and the two businessmen bought were not in keeping with the agreement and inferior.

“The council don’t even seem to have money to fund the wiring of people homes.”

Bloated figure

According to Wauna residents, several months ago, the Chairman of the Wauna CDC, Ammon Thom and council members held meetings with the residents and informed them about the G$18M Carbon Credit Fund which he said at the time, will be utilized for an electrification project at the community among other projects.

Of that sum, the CDC decided that $15M would go towards the electrification project. “This CDC Chair is not even from Wauna and he always in a money scandal here in the region,” a protestor alleged.

According to another resident, because of its remoteness, Wauna has never been connected to the electricity grid at the town of Mabaruma, “So, we welcomed the project.”

The regional authorities undertook a project, circa April this year in which Wauna was connected to the electricity grid at Mabaruma and Regional Chairman, Brentnol Ashley announced at the time that Wauna would receive 24-hour electricity for the first time.

Reports are that the Wauna CDC Council catered for 150 houses but the residents alleged that the amount was exorbitant. During a meeting earlier this year, this was brought to Thom’s attention. However, he indicated that the 150 figure was only a rough average but residents noted that something was amiss since the housing population of Wauna is substantially smaller than what was catered for. Attempts to contact Thom for a comment on the project and the protest have been futile as the number provided for him went to voice mail.

Protest

On Monday, residents told this newspaper that they were “fed up” of the delay in the project and the answers given by the Council regarding the project, which the residents said remains incomplete because of corruption.

They noted that the when the Carbon Credit Funds were made available to the community, the residents provided information on the quality and type of wires needed for the project. At the time, the council disbursed the funds to selected persons, including council members and their relatives, to purchase the wire.

“Now they said the money was not enough and that it finish,” a protestor related on Tuesday.

She alleged that the Wauna CDC Chairman and the Secretary of the CDC, who are close friends of the Regional Chairman, have been lying to the residents about the project and the sums allocated for same.

“We believe they are misusing the money, and this is based on previous project funds which disappeared under their helm,” she said. She called on the government and the police to investigate the incident since it appears that large sums of money are not accounted for under the project.

“The Regional Chairman and the CDC Chair of Wauna and the Secretary of the Council are friends, but we are fed up,” she said. She said that the majority of Wauna residents are die-hard supporters of the governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP) but she noted that residents have had enough.

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• Carbon Credit Fund, community, electrification, Mabaruma, Wauna

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