RESIDENTS of the small community of Bamia, on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, are excited by the announcement that they will soon be getting electricity, after years of living without same.With the clearing of the area to commence installation of electrical cables, residents are more optimistic that this promise will come true. Several times in the past they were promised electricity, but those promises never materialised.

“We are very happy that we will finally be given electricity now. (We are) very excited, even as we have been waiting for this a long time; and thanks to this Government and to God, we finally getting it,” posited James Hunter, a resident of Bamia.

He revealed that life was manageable but hard for residents, as they could not have purchased bulk perishables such as meat and vegetables. “We had to preserve our meat and make steady trips to the market, but now it will be different, with light coming to Bamia,” he said.

The community, comprising mostly Amerindians, also houses a school, a multi-purpose centre, a church and a masjid. A creek on which work was recently done runs through the community, and attracts many persons to Bamia.

Mr. Avery Trim, Senior Maintenance Supervisor of the Linden Electricity Company Incorporated (LUSCSI), revealed that the project costs $12M and the residents will receive electricity in their homes in four or five weeks’ time. The project, he said, is fully funded by LUSCSI, and was included in the company’s 2016 budget. Electricity will be given to the school, the multi-purpose building and approximately 100 residents, according to Trim.

Regional Chairman Renis Morian, commenting on the issue, said: “The Government plans for a good life for all Guyanese, which is bringing electrification to the residents of Bamia. For a number of years, they have been asking for electrification, and the Government has held true to the promise,” he said.

The Regional Chairman is also optimistic that, in the near future, communities located further up the highway, such as Moblissa, would also be recipients of electricity. Mr. Trim revealed that it is LUSCSI’s desire to provide electricity to one isolated community in Region 10 every year.