I WRITE knowing fully-well that it will have no impact as the politicians are blinded to reality. Lindeners are protesting the plan to increase their electricity rates and APNU and the AFC are supporting them. The claim is that Linden is a depressed community and there must be no increase until the residents get decent and well paid jobs. Lincoln Lewis talks about sweat and blood equity.
I ask, is Linden more depressed than Plastic City, Vreed-en-Hoop, the squatters at Herstelling and other numerous places on the West Demerara and East Bank; or Angoy’s Avenue and other places in Berbice? What about the Amerindian villages where no electricity is available. Unlike Lindeners, these residents (if you can call them that) all pay the full GPL tariff. Mr. Lewis, the people of Port Mourant pay the full rates and whenever the rates are increased they have to pay and this includes the depressed community of Ankerville, Port Mourant.
McKenzie, renamed Linden after Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, started as a mining community to cater for the bauxite company, not unlike the present mining community at Aroraima where the bauxite company RUSAL provides free furnished houses, electricity and water.
All the residents at Linden (McKenzie) worked with the bauxite company and were provided with the basic amenities, electricity included, but over the years Linden expanded to the point where it became a town with only a fraction of the citizens working with the bauxite company, yet all the residents continued to receive free electricity up to a few years ago when a token charge was made.
How depressed is Linden? Most of the residents work at the most highly paid jobs in Guyana with the two bauxite companies, BOSAI and RUSAL and in gold mining. Just walk around Linden and you will see all the restaurants, bars and other drinking spots, and there are quite a few, filled with patrons drinking beer and stout.