PM exhorts Lindeners to work for what they want
-instead of begging for development and sitting back
A group of persons said to be representatives of the Linden Co Operative Group yesterday showed total disregard and disrespect for the Prime Minister, Samuel Hinds. However, they begged the Prime Minister to meet with them after their attack. The group was among several other groups and persons who turned out to the International Co -Operatives day which was held at Kurukuru and organised by the New Highway Producers Co-operative Society Limited with assistance from the Ministry of Labour.
Before the Prime Minister spoke, representatives from the other co operative groups were called upon to bring greetings to which only one group from Linden responded. The member expressed shock and surprise that the Prime Minister was present at the event, recalling that the last the two such events the Prime Minister and government ministers were absent.
Mr. Hinds arrived at the location at approximately 10.15 hrs yesterday morning. Upon seeing the Prime Minister the group immediately got up and picked up their chairs and removed themselves from underneath a tent where they were seated among the other visitors at the event.
The group decided to sit away from the audience that the Prime Minister was expected to address. They took up seats outside of the tent but tried desperately to get shade from the leaves of a tree which was obviously inadequate. The group which numbered about 20 persons, including children.
However that did not move the Prime Minister nor did it move the organisers at the event, the proceedings proceeded as normal with the various acts of drama and remarks by several persons.
However when a brief shower descended at the location the group which sat outside of the tent still did not see it fit to join the rest of the co-operative members underneath the tent. Instead they scrambled to seek cover under the plastic chairs on which they sat using it to cover their heads. They were then invited under the bottom house of a resident in the area. It was there that they later invited the Prime Minister to meet with them.
The Prime Minister Hinds agreed to meet with the group and immediately after he ceased taking part in refreshments with the other members of the head table. To the Prime Minister’s surprise and that of the rest of the Linden group, when the Prime Minister went under the house to meet with the group the apparent leader of the group who was leading the heckling throughout the Prime Minister’s 35 minutes speech was nowhere in sight. He had to be searched for and brought to the area to raise the issues when he rudely tried to interrupt Mr. Hinds’s speech.
The PM’s message addressed the issue of people who believe that it was all right to just sit around and receive charity rather than working for what they want. This message obliviously did not go down well with the group and they began heckling the Prime Minister and loudly challenging his statements.
Their actions were so distractive and disrespectful that those who gathered underneath the tent began rebuking them to no avail. At one point a senior official of the Ministry of Labour got up from the head table and went over and spoke to the ring leader but he failed to cease his attack on the Prime Minister.
The distraction was so much that at one point the Prime Minister who was visibly upset by now, diverted from his original speech and began addressing the Lindeners with regards to their attitude and the present situation in Linden.
Prime Minister Hinds told the group that they have to do the best they can with what they have in providing for their needs. He urged them to live with that they have until they can do better rather than whining about every little thing. He cautioned that he has a right to say what he said because of his experience and the reality and fact that everyone can do the same.
The Prime Minister said that such an approach can only start when persons start from the position of what their responsibilities are. He said that what the people of Linden want to enjoy for free, other persons are paying for and in a great way. Mr. Hinds encouraged the disgruntled group to learn from the Co-op song “let us cooperate” he pointed to the part of the song that said “Can we do it yes we can”.
In an apparent reference to the low electricity rates that the residents of Linden have been paying over the years, the Prime Minister reminded the Linden group that freeness that are enjoyed by so many people are coming out of the needs of other persons.
The Prime Minister said that what the Linden Electricity Co-Operative Union needs to understand is that while the government has a soft spot for co-operatives the fact is that the government is realist. The Prime Minister took a swipe at those who offer unrealistic promises to persons and that is something the administration has a problem with as these acts prevent the people from applying themselves.
Begging for development and sitting back and waiting for it to come to you without any progress on your part is not something that is likely to be realised the Prime Minister said in a direct response to the Linden group.  As one of the members from the group raised the issue of education, Mr. Hinds reminded him that while a nice fancy building is not the answer the government has provided the facilities in the community and it is the responsibility of the people living there to equip themselves to complement the response on the part of the government in their interest in ensuring that the schools are adequately staffed.
In comparing the Kurukuru area with Linden, the Prime Minister who also has responsibility for energy said that when electricity was brought to the area the persons living there were made to pay the rate that is being charged by the power company which is far lower than the amount that Linden residents paid up until Saturday.
He made it clear that the government could have no longer allow Linden residents to use almost three times the amount of electricity than the rest of the country and almost being paying zero for it. He said that no one knows how the situation would turn out but only time will tell.