–Solomon urges Region 10 Administration

By Vanessa Braithwaite
THE newly-elected representatives of Region 10 are being urged by former Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon to pick up the baton and have other crucial elements of the August 21, 2012 agreement fulfilled.

The agreement between the Regional Administration under his tenure and the Donald Ramotar-led administration still has several promises that are unfulfilled and are legally required to be met even after a change in administration.

Solomon, in a statement on behalf of the Region 10 television station’s board, on Saturday said the acquisition of the television and its functioning in the region is but a small part of the agreement signed, and it is fitting that the others be granted to the people of Region 10.

“Other crucial elements remain unfulfilled but are still legally required to be met. This includes the Technical Committee to look into the electricity issue and an Economic Committee to develop a plan for the region’s growth and development,” he posited.

Solomon articulated that it is important that this agreement in its entirety be met as lives were lost in the 2012 struggle.

“The people of Linden/Region 10, in memory of the Linden Martyrs, Shemroy Bouyea, Allan Lewis and Ron Somerset and our struggles of 2012, which saw us united in purpose and commitment to end our marginalisation and denial of adequate and sustainable development ventures must continue to focus their energies and time on unleashing the economic potential of the region.”

The elements that were met in the agreement were the recent granting of the license for the television station to be operated and the Land Selection Committee.

The Technical Committee when established will be tasked with reviewing the existing provision and consumption of electricity in Linden, including the history, the costs, the tariff structure, and the subsidies; consider arrangements to provide electricity to the Linden community and the tariffs to sustain such arrangements within a sustainable time frame; examine Region 10’s economic circumstances, inclusive of the affordability of the increased cost; look at the advantages and disadvantages of the integration of the supply of electricity in the Linden area into the national grid; and, make recommendations on cost saving measures and options for alternative energy, including the facilitation of conservation education and conservation.

The Economic Committee will examine all studies, plans, sectors and their sources, in addition to new human and material resources that would aid in the crafting of a sustainable development plan for the region.

The 2012 agreement was signed after the end of a five-week unrest on electricity tariffs which saw the police killing three protesters.