By Jomo Paul
[www.inewsguyana.com] – Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson has announced that with a billion dollar subsidy to the LinMine Electricity Company, residents of Linden will be paying just $5 per Kilowatt hour for electricity in the mining town.
The Company is also listed for a $1B subvention under the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and $2B under the Ministry of Finance. Patterson made the revelation following questions from Opposition members of the National Assembly. He stated that while residential customers will pay $5, business consumers will have to pay some $12.
However, while this is the case, PPP MP Nigel Dharamlall informed the House that residents of Lethem are paying some $180 per house.
“The Amerindians of Lethem are paying way above what other areas are paying especially Linden and we would like to urge the Ministry of Public Infrastructure to relook at the rates,” said Dharamlall.
He told the House that the information was obtained from a colleague member of Parliament; he was however forced to withdraw the statement after he failed to provide proof of the claim and Patterson pointed out the correct figures.
According to the Public Infrastructure Minister, residents of Lethem enjoy the first 15 kilowatts of energy for free. The next 15-50 kilowatts is charged at $60 and over 50 kilowatts is charged at $80 per kilowatt.
The Lethem Power Company is listed for a $70M subvention under the Office of the Prime Minister, while the company is also slated to benefit from a $35M subvention under the Public Infrastructure Ministry.
The monies from the Office of the Prime Minister were approved on Monday and the monies under the Public Infrastructure Ministry on Tuesday. It should be noted that while these areas have electricity subventions, other areas in Guyana pay the flat rate of $48 per KWH of residential electricity. The rate is a few dollars higher for commercial users.
BIG LIE !!!!! WALT, YOU DON”T HAVE SHAME ???
They are blood suckers indeed
You have forgotten that that area was ethnically cleansed in the 60’s. It’s a no go area for that section of the population. The fear, the memory of murder, arson, looting are all very much in the minds of a people who once lived there peacefully with their neighbours who suddenly turned against them. Yes, you may see a trickle returning but fear is still in their mindset . Once bitten twice shy
Maybe I am dunce so what is the total of $3 billion for? I don’t even understand your point. The point of the article is unfair rates of electricity. Get a clue……morals are very important. We can’t live life believing our own convenient lies.
No weapon form against the people of Guyana and their leaders shall prosper.
Please note that there were transmission lines from linden to gt . linden was giving excess power to the national grid for free .
i want subsidized power too. Apart from stating the Linden is perpetually in limbo and economic crisis, is this the only place in Guyana facing these problems? Is poverty only in Linden? Govt. policy needs to be fair on all levels u cant want Govt. subs for power when your only justification is claiming that the social economy is stagnant. If this is the case then dozens of other communities and villages can claim this. Linden has gotten special grants since its inception as a bauxite producer but those days are over yet the perks still exist at Govt ( tax payers) money.
Who stopping anyone from living in Linden? If you want cheap electricity go live there that’s all stop complaining and move on up.
Emile you have all the answers to our problem yet you are cleaning the white people shit in America,if Bosai is selling cheap electricity to linden why a billion dollars of subsidy from the government?Lindeners dont like to work but they think they are entitle to freeness because Burnham started it,what happen to the other parts of Guyana,are we from a different part of the world?why do we have to work and pay taxes and linden getting all the freeness,I use to think you are the most impartial blogger but i was wrong.
Twist the truth any way Emile, your SPIN on this issue will not dissipate the fact that Lindeners are paying peanuts comparing to what the vast number of GPL customers on the coast are paying. Good try
Thank you,,,they sit and talk shit all day,waiting on hand outs,,,,and they LAZzzzzzy
You seemed very riled up about this issue, Emile.
Why should Lindeners be paying $5 per kilowatt hour when other Guyanese pay $48 per kilowatt hour and as much as $80 per KWH in Lethem? Don’t tell me this nonsense about Bosai. The government is subsidizing the electricity for Lindeners by, according to this budget, at least $3B.
That is unfair and these rates should be adjusted. Either the rates go up in Linden to match what other citizens are paying, or the rate is lowered for everyone else to match the Linden rates.
There is no justification for this exceedingly low electricity rate for Linden. This is a drain on the treasury.
PPP folks need to get their facts before they stick their mouse in their mouth. Linden is not Pradoville II, where one man has three transformers and everybody was getting free electricity and water until the change of government forced a change in this blatant theft.
The the minimal cost Lindeners pay now is based on electricity supplied by Bosai for its bauxite operations with excess power going to the community.
And even with this minimal cost, Bosai boasted a couple of years ago, that it was making a handsome profit selling power to Region 10 consumers, but this rubbed the PPP regime the wrong way because Bosai was not supposed to be talking about making a profit on selling electricity.
Again, for the benefit of the PPP ignoramuses and liars, the cost of electricity generation by Bosai is different from the cost by any other supplier, because Bosai is not into the electricity generating business; it just has excess electricity from its bauxite operations that it sells to private consumers.
This practice existed for decades before Bosai came on the scene, but jackasses that do not know better or should know better just keep braying lies and misinformation, because Linden does not vote PPP.
Is linden people only Guyanese the rest of us are FOREIGNERS!!!! Isn’t the wealth of the country be shared equally.
Linden is not an undeveloped region. If one could remember good during the 2012 unrest in Linden, the Lindeners claims that they lost HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS o f dollars during the THREE days of PROTEST, so Lindeners needs to contribute their fair share, not just sitting and be BLOOD SUCKERS and the present need to be more realistic.
I agree with you DAX23, and what about the people in Georgetown why do we have to pay so much per kilowatt, so much for greener better life for all, seems we end up in the same boat where only some benefit while others have to foot the majority of the cost!
We need a much tougher Minister of Public Infrastructure. The current Minister needs to step aside now.
Will the Honourable Minister David Patterson tell the Nation what would be the cost per kilowatt hour to all those pensioners who do not live in Linden and whose subsidies have been withdrawn, not only from electricity but also water?