THE Minister of Social Cohesion was forced to intervene in a situation in Bartica earlier today when a disconnection crew of the Guyana Power and Light clashed with residents of the mining town in the middle of voting for the Local Government Elections.

The move aggravated a number Barticans including the Mayor of the town, Gifford Marshall and Chairman of Region Seven, Gordon Bradford. Bradford, in commenting on the issue, told the Guyana Chronicle: “this was a foolish move to carry out disconnection on elections day.” He shared that the people of Bartica are now complaining that they are not going the cast their vote because they now have to take their time off to reconnect their current.

Marshall, on the other hand, tried to intervene at the GPL office in Bartica asking the team for leniency at this critical time. However, in his attempt, the supervisor who was sent from Georgetown was reportedly abusive to the mayor. This prompted Minister Norton to intervene. Minister Norton also expressed his disappointment with the actions of the GPL staff and made contact with someone higher up.