Official talks continue for common ground on Linden

Georgetown, GINA, July 23, 2012 -- Source - GINA

President Donald Ramotar and a Government team in talks with Chairman of Region Ten Sharma Solomon and officials from the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) on Linden.

President Donald Ramotar and a Government team met Region Ten officials and members of the opposition political parties for another round of talks aimed at finding a common position on Linden since protest actions against the decision to increase the electricity tariff in the mining town escalated into an uprising that left three persons dead and buildings razed by fire.

Chairman of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) Sharma Solomon, and Geographic Region Ten Member of Parliament Vanessa Kissoon, joined a delegation from A Partnership for National Unity (A.P.N.U) and the Alliance for Change (A.F.C) in discussion with the President, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon, Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh, Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn and Presidential Adviser on Governance Gail Teixeira.

Another meeting is scheduled for tomorrow at the same venue (Office of the President) where the two sides will seek to appraise the different positions advanced on the new tariff structure that requires Lindeners to pay more for electricity.

Meanwhile the Government is appealing for calm and the return to normalcy in the town which has become inaccessible by protestors using debris to block the thoroughfare and other access points.

Solomon, speaking to sections of the media after the meeting, said “the people are prepared to dig in as deep as they have to” until they are satisfied that demands, which he claims are being made on behalf of the people of Linden, are met.

He however, came out in condemnation of those unsavoury characters who conducted unlawful acts although some have argued that organizers of the protest should bear some of the responsibility.

The volatile situation has inevitably harmed the investment and business environment in the town with the Bauxite Company operated by Bosai closing its doors and Toucan Connections, the call centre in Linden which employs almost 150 persons, halting operations.

The Private Sector Commission (PSC) had also joined in the call for peace and for good sense to prevail, following the ugly scene in the mining town and had recently met President Ramotar on the issue.

The decision to increase the electricity tariff in Linden is at the centre of the discrepancy and following the loss of lives during a faceoff between police and protestors, President has ordered a Commission of Inquiry to examine the circumstances.

Government and the opposition party APNU, agreed to draft the Terms of Reference for the Commission to be concluded not later than August 2.

Commanding Officer of E & F Division has been removed fulfilling the wishes of the stakeholders engaged however the President is reluctant to buy into calls for the resignation of the Home Affairs Minister.

The Government said its proposal to APNU during consultations in April remains on the table according to the President in a press conference on July 20.

Lindeners for years have been enjoying low electricity rates and consume about three times the amount as other consumers on the national grid.

Under this new structure Lindeners will receive the first 50 kwh per month at the existing prices. The full cost for electricity in Linden is $ 75-80 per kwh; however, even after the first 50 kwh, bauxite pensioners will pay $50 per kwh, others $50 and commercial and industrial outfits will pay $ 65.

Even under this new structure, Lindeners will still not pay what the other electricity consumers are paying.

The people should be on the street as long as he defames them with lies

President Donald Ramotar should be applauded for his continued call to restore normalcy in Linden from the opposition sponsor riot that caused innocent lives and injuries to many. In any civil society, the peace must be restored before an inquiry can be carried out. Stormborn and foes who campaigned to prolonged the death and destruction are enemies to the State.

Stupid man, I never argued for violence. Actually, my main contribution here is toward a cessation of the unacknowledged low level internecine warfare that has been in existence since the founding of the nation.  The state is dysfunctional and the PPP wants that status quo. It is a recipe for race war. Indians alone or blacks alone can not dominate the state and use it as their leech source and think all will be well with the world.

Quote by: Stormborn

The people should be on the street as long as he defames them with lies.

Isn't this a call for slow-fiya-mo-fiya, or am I hallucinating?

 You can construe it whatever which way you may chose. I believe I stated precisely in clear and distinct English what I meant.

Linden is not a state within a State, they should conserve on Electricity and pay the same tariff for electricity as the rest of the country.

I have yet to see precisely your position in the aftermath of Linden riot. The government is welcoming a peaceful approach to the ongoing issue. Your words support further violence, and you're running away from it. You said it not me.

 The government has all men on board in creating a smear campaign of the opposition. Were he concerned to come to some table then he would tone down the rhetoric. Any idiot can construe anything as a slight, and that can precipitate violence.

We have three dead people as idiot agents of the administration shoot into a crowd. Others are still in the hospital nursing their injured bodies from that violence. It is apparently clear one must be careful with you folks since any disagreement and protestation to that effect is a slight and you want blood.

I do not worry that you go through contortions to say I am inclined to violence that is what you do. Meanwhile, who is doing the killing and the maiming?

As he congratulates himself infront of the mirror.

Stormborn says that the 'people should remain on the streets as long as he defames them with lies'. What lies? The government has issued statements calling for normalcy and dialogue. But these chaps want their pound of flesh from their computers in North America. This is Guyana and we won't let that happen. 

The full cost for electricity in Linden is $ 75-80 per kwh;

That is a lie. That is an arbitrary number bulled from the air. Simply because old equipment, mismanagement, line loss and theft of electricity escalates prices for GPL customer it does not mean Lindeners have the same cost. They are different companies.

There are more dissimulations from the president above but this is the core issue.

They should pay what the company producing the electricity asks not a markup by the government.

They should pay and the government says all along that is willing to discuss the matter. Isn't this how problems are resolved? `

suh let me get this straight . . . pay fuss and discuss later!??

are you a comedian, a fool, or wannabe PPP smartman?

The govt has said all along that the increase will be in phases and will be discussed. Go back and read the literature.

 Are you simply a parrot or are  you too lazy to apprise yourself of the timeline and the events leading up to this? 

The government did as it usually do and instituted a 900 percent increase in rates. The people resisted. the police murdered 3 and wounded over a dozen, they angrily retaliated and burned some vehicles etc. Now the want to talk and clearly they should but with strict pre conditions as with the decision to set up a commission at a finite date. Unfortunately they did not conclude on the nature and composition of the commission.

It is clear in light of the deaths and the injury they were very restrained. Rodney king verdict set LA alight and cost millions with gruesome cruelty on the ground. Here, sense prevailed and not because the government was helpful. It was because the people took stock of their circumstance.

So, will they roll back the increased rates (in force July 1) while they discuss . . .?

This is a direct question!

The President said that things are negotiable. The Commission will be broad based. Give it time to do its work. And as for Rodney King this red herring is out of context.

It is parallelism not a red herring. It is an example where constraint was dominant and not as the PPP and their propagandist are arrayed to sell as the prevailing condition.

I suggest you see the messaging across the social networks. Even here they have their paid posters from the New Guyana Media group disseminating posters branding the people as ignorant destructive, freeloading  brutes They are further said to be misled by the opposition and distracted from the PPP's charity and benevolence.

That is the context and not your air headed blissful ignorance of the nature and ongoing strategy of the PPP do do all they can to sell this as the opposition's fault vs a disagreement in principle initiating a street protest while the heavy hand of a corrupt police force did the unthinkable and shot live ammunition into a crowd.

Answer my damn question.

Obviously, you didn't do your bloody homework before braying

Why should they?  The GoG should not succumb to blackmail and threats.  This will set the wrong precedent and could open up many similar issues around the nation.  A negotiation of how best to get to rate equalization is in order, but equalization is a must for sure.

Answer your 'damn' question? The answer to your damn question lies with the government. Go ask them. 

In the end the costs is the costs and the paying customers need to cover the costs even for those who pilfer.  The Govt must go after these pilfers and bring them to justice, but the costs must be borne.

Lindeners must pay the same as the rest of the nation, regardless of imperfections, exceptions are a dangerous precedent.  Ok, according to you, its a different Co, so their costs should be different.  Then what if the costs is higher, is it fair that they be forced to pay just because they are not on the national grid??  That would be unfair.

The Govt needs to set a national rate for all consumers based on a fixed and agreed model.

To this point linden does not have the same problem with illegal connections as GPL.

The cost must be on par with what savings the provider accrued from good management, better equipment etc.  This micro management from a central authority arbitrarily deciding on cost  is nonsense.  Note local people cannot construct a bridge without the government input.

Good engineers and management specialist understanding systems believe in subsidiary, ie a local control and knowledge of systems local to them maximize creativity and industry.  

It is for this reason we need representative government with possibly two layers od the legislature and non territorial federalism affording local control of and management of local problems. The government is better at dealing with larger problems.

Does not matter, once to start with exceptions, it becomes unmanageable.  The Govt should go after pilfer, but that should not be any reason for regional deviations.