The People’s Progressive Party (PPP),last Friday, staged a picketing exercise in front of the Alliance for Change (AFC) office at Anna Regina car park and the APNU office at Henrietta to press demands for the opposition parties to go back  to Parliament and restore the subsidy in the National Budget  for the Guyana Power and Light Co. (GPL).

The picketing exercise headed by Region 2 Chairman, Mr. Parmanand Persaud and Vice-Chairman, Mr. Vishnu Samaroo  and scores of party comrades started from Freedom House at Anna Regina and headed to the APNU office at Henrietta.
Picketers displayed placards that said” “Back to the flambo with APNU and AFC”, “APNU and AFC will cause starvation with GPL increase”,” APNU and AFC want people to suffer’,”Yes to development, No to AFC and APNU”, “AFC and APNU continue to suffer their own supporters”, “Opposition must restore budget cuts Now”,” Why AFC and APNU did not cut $3 billion from Linden budget?” and “AFC and APNU not thinking of the Guyanese people”.
Shouting for the budget cuts to be restored by the two opposition parties, the picketers then walked along the public road to the car park where they picketed the AFC office.
While the picketers marched around the park with their placards many other persons stood around and gave their support to the call of the PPP for the opposition parties to restore the subsidy to GPL.
First Secretary of the PPP, Mr. Vishnu Samaroo who is the Vice-Chairman of Region 2 in an address said, the proposed increase in electricity tariffs  by some 26.6 % is a direct result of the AFC and APNU actions and not the ruling PPP/C Government.
Mr. Samaroo called on Essequibians to understand that it is the opposition parties that want to bring hardship on the Guyanese people. He said the opposition parties supported a subsidy for the people of Linden but cut the subsidy to the power company that will benefit residents of other parts of the country.
Mr. Samaroo said the AFC and APNU want to stagnate development in the country and pointed to the Specialty Hospital and the country’s flagship Hydro power Project as two examples of major projects the opposition  has opposed.
Central executive member of the PPP and current Chairman of Region 2, Mr. Parmanand Persaud said the increase in electricity rates is a direct result of the AFC and APNU actions. Mr. Persaud said the opposition parties are bent on bringing more burdens on the Guyanese people and he declared his willingness to join with Essequibians in the picketing exercise to press demands for the opposition parties to restore the subsidy to GPL.