The government has put “on hold” the hike in electricity tariffs for Linden from July 1 after coming under swingeing pressure from the community that culminated in a series of protests including one on July 18 in which three men were fatally shot by the police.
Following meetings with representatives for the mining town, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon said in a statement yesterday that “as a result of the engagement…the government undertook to put on hold the July 1 deadline for the decision of the increase of the tariffs rate.” Lindeners strongly opposed the increase and argued that residents could not afford it because of the high unemployment rate in the mining town. A protest against the increase intensified on July 18 and has continued since. Luncheon’s statement said that government will also undertake several economic initiatives.
The statement said that since the July 18th incident, the administration has been meeting “practically on a daily basis” with stakeholders to address concerns that arose since the
