Port Kaituma residents refuse to return Gov’t-issued solar panels
Residents of Citrus Grove, Port Kaituma, are locked in a battle with the government which is demanding that they return the solar panels given to them last Monday. The residents have vowed not to hand over the panels
Residents of Citrus Grove, Port Kaituma are refusing to return solar panels given to them by the government.
despite threats from officials to engage the services of the police to retrieve them. The residents believe that the panels are being recalled because of the perceived non-support for the People’s Progressive Party. The panels were given to the about 100 residents on Monday, in keeping with a promise made three years ago, when the Citrus Grove community was without electricity. Kaieteur News understands that since the request for the panels was made, the area was subsequently given electricity by the power company at Port Kaituma. The confusion reportedly arose when the residents were invited to a meeting on Wednesday, a day after government officials visited the area, and were told that since the area is now being powered by the Port Kaituma Power Company, they no longer needed the panels. The residents were told that they would have to return the panels and if they did not it would be forcibly taken from them. One resident who spoke to this newspaper is of the opinion that the people of Citrus Grove are being penalized for not showing support for the government when the officials visited the community. He explained that the reason given for demanding the return of the panels does not hold water, since residents of another location – Oronoque – are not being asked to return theirs although their community too is being powered by company electricity. “Dem ain’t taking back dem own, but dey want we fuh give back we own. De president come hey Tuesday and Wednesday…dey asking we fuh give back de panels,” the resident stated. They are blaming the Chairman of the area’s Interim Management Committee for the current situation. This newspaper understands that the IMC Chairperson did turn up with the police yesterday to recover the solar panels. The police briefly detained the chairman of the community development committee Neville La Rose. He told this newspaper after his release that the police “wisely” decided that the matter was not one for them to deal with. “What is causing the problem is that this whole thing was not explained properly,” La Rose stated. He said that the residents will resist any attempt to repossess the panels especially since the electricity supply from the power company is unreliable. “Right now, the generator break down and we not getting power. So why give back de panels?” a resident questioned.