AFTER being in a darkened world for a long time, the residents of Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam, Berbice on Thursday evening became the official beneficiaries of the Unserved Areas Electrification Programme (UAEP), which has resulted in 331 new connections being effected over the past six weeks.

The symbolic cutting of the ribbon coupled with the switching on of power by Prime Minister Mr. Samuel Hinds, began a new era for Berbice’s largest squatting community, which was once characterised by electricity theft.
“Every day it’s Christmas. Lights! Lights! , Lights!,” a resident exulted, seconds after the switch was turned on at Timmer’s Dam, a short distance from the Berbice Educational Institute, in the town.
In his feature address, the Prime Minister, whilst describing the event as a happy one which had been long coming, noted that the usual arrangement is that persons who needed electricity had to pay for their first connection to the utility company.
“I think it had cost about $2.5M per mile …. But, we have recognised that many of our citizens were not in a position to bring together the amounts of monies to have electricity sent to them, so we have set up a programme … the Unserved Areas Electricity Programme (UAEP), which is to assist in bringing electricity to all the homes.”
Further, Mr. Hinds noted that with the Unserved Areas Electricity Programme 1 [one], a soft loan was received from the Inter-American Development Bank, However, one of the constraints was that we would not go to homes where the average cost exceeds $200,000 per household.
“Whilst we were readily provided with grants and soft loans by international agencies. We have now moved on… we used to be a Least Developed Country, but a few years ago we have been re-assessed and now we are listed on the bottom half of the Medium Developed Country [bracket] … a lot of persons have been brought above the poverty line. We have now [been] placed in a different category. We are now not expected to have soft loans and grants . We are now required to carry our own load and paddle our own canoe.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Carvel Duncan, Vice- Chairman of the Guyana Power and Light Board of Directors, in his presentation, noted that it was through the collaborative effort of the Government of Guyana and the utility company which has resulted in the electrification, which was once the imagination of one’s illusion.
‘’No one anticipated that a day would come when you would have had electricity. No one would have told you that the prime minister would have been here to celebrate, but regardless of the difficulties and the court procedure …GPL stood with you and by you, and at the time when the matters were over we came up readily saying that we would provide you with electricity.”
“The Government of Guyana said to GPL to put $16M aside for electricity …In order to get electricity there were certain conditions. Over 300 persons have met the requirements, and some still have to come on board.”
Meanwhile, as the Vice-Chairman reminded the residents that nothing was cheap or free. He noted that while some persons believe that stealing is the way of life, they must nevertheless learn from their history which records persons who would have lost their lives through electricity theft.
“Nevertheless, children can now study in the nights …they can become better Guyanese as they now have electricity …we can now say that we are beneficiaries as someone made it possible.”
Also speaking during the sun- setting programme was Mr. Phalyange Nandkumar, the Loss Reduction Coordinator who informed the scores gathered that Angoy’s Avenue had 1685 illegal connections removed for 2014. Nevertheless, he urged the residents to follow the examples of Berbice business NandPersaud, and A. Ally, who have multi- million dollar bills, yet they are paid promptly.
In the meantime, in his brief remarks, Regional Chairman David Armogan while highlighting the many developmental programmes going on in the community, noted that electricity is not a privilege, but should be guaranteed in every home.
“With electricity comes, comforts with many appliances. Electricity has a spiralling effect for expansion purposes,” he posited.
The two- hour programme which had in its attendance the internal and external directors of the Guyana Power and Light Company, the CEO Mr. Bharrat Dindyal, amongst others, was punctuated by poetic expressions by a member of the Progressive Youth Organisation and sweet renditions of folk songs through the skilful drumming of the Conga Nya group. Other speakers included Member of Parliament Faizal Jafarrally and the Community Development Council Chairman Mr. Zabber Ally Armogan known as Mr. Brown.
Angoy’s Avenue, which has approximately 16,000 residents, has transformed itself from a cultivating plot to the largest soon- to- be- regularised local squatting community.
Meanwhile, a resident, Louisa Wills, recalled how land owners began exploitation of their tenants by regularly increasing rentals, which resulted in the formation of the New Haven Co-op Society. Representatives of the group then got an audience with the then People’s National Congress administration, which confiscated the lands through compulsory acquisition.  Subsequently, the society was asked to pay $190,000 in order to have ownership of the lands, but as the monies were being accumulated to be paid, the government had changed with the People’s Progressive Party/Civic administration being elected to office.
Consequently, there was a large influx of persons into the area, resulting in the Society moving to the courts where an injunction was filed against the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), in an effort to prevent outsiders from occupying lands designated for institutions and a recreation park. However, after two hearings, the matter was stalled and the society was deemed to be defunct.
Following political consultations however, APNU parliamentarian Joseph Harmon, representing the New Haven Society, had the injunction withdrawn resulting in commencement of the regularisation process.
Meanwhile, Community Officer Mr. Phillip Rose noted that the injunction that had been filed for over 19 years had prevented residents from legally accessing electricity and potable water. However, persons who had initially leased plots were beneficiaries of the utility services.
It was the intervention of Prime Minister Samuel Hinds which enabled citizens to have increased access to water.
Initially, persons had to dig holes to access water, and whenever it rained, the water became contaminated. Subsequently, pipelines were installed to meet the growing demand of the expanding population.
In addition, access to electricity had not been not forthcoming for those who were without the relevant documentation, as the utility company insisted that documents of ownership must be produced before power could have been issued.
As a result of this decision, the Guyana Power and Light Co. lost millions of dollars through rampant electricity theft, and even a child’s life was lost during the process. In addition to the denial of electricity, students living in the community were often refused access into schools having had to walk through muddied streets to attend learning institutions in the township.
Consultations were held with then President Bharrat Jagdeo, whose advice led to the formation of the Citizen Development Committee and the subsequent release of $10M to assist in road development. Furthermore, support was drawn from the Guyana Sugar Corporation and the regional administration under Mr. Kumkarran Ramdas, resulting in clearing of the drains. The municipal council did not give support, as the area was unregularised. Rev. Dr.Dale Bisnauth, and then Minister of Housing and Water, Mr. Shaik Baskh, made failed efforts to have the area further developed, but the members of the New Haven Society held on to the injunction as a “bargaining chip,” thus bringing a halt to development.
However, during 2013, following a meeting with the Minister of Housing and Water, Irfaan Ali, persons were informed that the injunction had been removed, paving the way for development.
However, the development process was still not without some hurdles as the government was unable to work with the old plan (mapping), as areas previously designated under the co-op society for institutions had since been occupied by squatters. It was also observed that the sizes of houselots varied as per household; some persons were without footpaths and had to wait on the generosity of their neighbours. In addition, some persons had sold the lands when they had no legal right to do so, as they were all squatters.
Nevertheless, despite the challenges ahead, residents of “Angoy’s Avenue” are pleased with the new wind of development coming their way, and longs for the moment when they could operate their electrical appliances without hurrying to disconnect on seeing the vehicle transporting GPL workers and ranks from the Guyana Police Force.

(By Jeune Bailey Van Keric)