Dear Editor,
LAST week Sunday I had some guests from Trinidad at my church. I observed very early we had a severe blackout on the East Coast Demerara.
I had to use our church generator, the blackout lasted from 6am until 5pm. In our night service the blackout returned again around 7pm until midnight. For the past 10 years my church has suffered from blackouts for Good Friday and Christmas Day services. I see these blackouts now over eight times a day, that’s far worse than the Forbes Burnham era. My kids have a lot of SBA’s and research projects to complete and many students who are writing C.X.C and very soon CAPE are affected. Worst yet, all the stuff in my refrigerator were spoilt. Where I live on Agriculture Road, opposite NAREI overhead tank, has a real transformer problem.

I am living there for 18 years and the moment we have a slight wind I will hear these transformers go off like a bomb. Whenever I called GPL emergency line they are always on voicemail or if they answer it is in a rude manner, ”No staff available.” During the 18 years, Iíve see GPL crews come here, sometimes days after, to fix these issues on the two posts but until now they cannot install a proper transformer.

A neighbour told me that it is 30 years now that they have the problem, the moment it rains or a slight wind blows the posts fires off like a bomb and they (GPL) will come and use a stick to push up the transformers. And these sad scenarios are occurring all over Guyana. Many poles are rotten and twisted, some even pose great danger to citizens, yet no one from GPL is fixing them. But GPL is very efficient to cut off your light and remove your meters if you owe, we are paying bills with VAT to GPL for a service we are not receiving. Since these explosions and constant blackouts over seven of my computers were even though I use three forms of protection. I was told by some top technicians and electricians that GPLís fluctuating power will burn any equipment even though it has protection, like stabilizers and APC backup. It’s time citizens sue GPL for millions but I wonder if we can ever try the devil in HELL.

Now I turn my attention to GTT, in February, this year I noted with interest the technicians from GTT Blaze team were running lines in my area. They came to my house and took my information to upgrade my service for Blaze near the third week in February. They told me that on the 15th of March I will get Blaze, let me go and pay in first week in March. I went to pay but was told I won’t be getting Blaze for now they are not ready as yet. We are now in May and the Blaze team has gone into other areas in Agriculture Road, to install Blaze for those who applied after me but until now I have received no call from GTT. They failed to keep their WORD and TIME when compared to the white man. I also observed since they running cables for this blaze my current DSL with them (GTT) is extremely slow, my emails nor face book page cannot open, my emails are bouncing back because of the constant slow internet service GTT is now offering. The DSL service GTT is offering cannot presently cost $1,000 per month yet we pay $6,300, $10,000 and more and now with blaze we have to pay an additional $5000 to $8000 more a month with VAT.

The way I see it the Blaze will turn into a snailís pace just like DSL for us to upgrade and be robbed, cheated and exploited the same way they introduced DSL to replace the dial up. In my opinion, the dial up was working faster than DSL and now Blaze will blaze out sooner or later. We are cheated and exploited by GPL and GTT where our bills exceed our salaries. I invite any minister of government to visit any GPL and GTT office and they will see hundreds cussing and querying bills.
We are just a few weeks away to celebrate our 52nd Independence. I ask the question again what have we achieved after 52 years of independence?

Regards
Rev. Gideon Cecil