PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar, acting on the advice of the Heads of the Joint Services, yesterday postponed a scheduled visit to Linden, some 60-odd miles from the capital, Georgetown, in an attempt to amicably resolve an issue that is fast growing out of proportion.
The issue at reference, as everyone knows by now, has to do primarily with a proposed hike in the tariff for electricity, which has been since put on hold, among other matters of importance to both the government and the people of Linden.
According to the Government Information Agency (GINA), yesterday’s meeting was at the suggestion of Linden residents who felt that dialogue was much more preferable and effective than open confrontation, as now obtains in the community, particularly in the wake of the three deaths in the course of an exercise  protesting  the tariff hike.
The agency reports that during the course of yesterday, Joint Services Heads at the scene of the impasse apprised the President of their several failed attempts at controlling protesters who obstructed the Kara Kara access bridge to Linden, and removed the logs and other paraphernalia used to blockade the thoroughfare.
Other reports coming out of the mining community, long regarded as a primary gateway to the hinterland and farther afield in South America, are that scores of protestors also formed a human barricade across the road, and began singing hymns. Among those reportedly on the frontline as the Joint Services were called in to service a frontend loader to clear the rubble used to blockade the roads were women and children.
The Office of the President, in a release issued late yesterday, said the postponement of the president’s planned visit was deeply regretted, particularly by those stakeholders who had already assembled at Watooka House for the public meeting and consultations with the President and his delegation.
The President’s announced visit yesterday, GINA said, was expected to advance talks with the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and regional stakeholders representing the religious, business, labour, women’s and youth organisations.
President Ramotar was reportedly quoted in a recent Office of the President brief as emphasising that while Lindeners, like all Guyanese, have the right to protest and represent their issues and concerns in a peaceful and law-abiding manner, he will not countenance the blockage of roads and bridges leading into, and through, any community.
Network communities in other parts of Regions 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice), 7 (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and 8 (Potaro-Siparuni) that inevitably depend on the road passing through Linden for ingress and egress, GINA says, are experiencing great discomfiture as a result of the protest and concerns are building up as the days go by.
The blockading of major arteries in the area has disrupted life in the communities, leading to loss for businesses and threatening the provision of critical social and utility services such as health, water and electricity.
Food and transport costs for Lindeners and interior communities beyond have been significantly inflated, according to President Ramotar in his address to the nation on the issue.
The situation has also caused the bauxite company operated by Bosai to close its doors, and has significantly affected  Toucan Connections, a call-centre in Linden which employs almost 150 persons.
“If this continues,” the President is quoted as saying, “it will do irreparable harm to the opportunities for investments aimed at creating more jobs and improving the living standards for the Linden community and Region 10 as a whole.”
The electricity tariff is at the centre of the protest which started out peacefully on July 18, but escalated into unrest, leaving three persons dead and several others seriously injured, in addition to the destruction of several buildings by fire.
President Ramotar has since ordered a Commission of Inquiry to examine the circumstances that led to the loss of lives, and agreed with the opposition to draft the Terms of Reference for the constitution of the Commission to be concluded not later than August 2.
The government has also offered to put on hold the July 1 deadline by which the electricity tariff hike was scheduled to take effect in Linden, and has moved to establish a technical team comprising members from both sides to review options to the tariff system.
This review would include all available and practical options and the attendant implications, financial and otherwise, according to Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon.