Region 10 Chairman Sharma Solomon has written Prime Minister Sam Hinds asking him to take the required action to have “inaccuracies” in Ambassador Bayney Karran’s presentation on the Linden unrest to the Organisation of American States corrected.
With his correspondence, Solomon attached a letter he had dispatched earlier to Karran raising concerns about inaccuracies and misrepresentations in his recounting of the events at Linden in July/August which saw three protesters being shot dead by police, around three dozen being injured and the torching of buildings. Karran made his presentation to the OAS Permanent Council in Washington on August 22 and it has evoked criticism for what has been described as its one-sided version of events. Karran told the OAS that the situation was precarious and called for the OAS to keep a watch on Guyana.
In his letter yesterday to Hinds, Soloman noted that Karran’s presentation had been made after Region 10 and the Government of Guyana had signed an agreement on a tariff review and other matters for Linden. This agreement brought the unrest to an end.
“The inaccuracies and misrepresentations could go a far in undermining our common desire to implement the agreement of (21th) August 2012. In the circumstance, I am requesting that you take the required action to have Ambassador Karran correct the inaccuracies and misrepresentation since it is better for the government to do it rather than the Region”, Solomon said in the letter.
Meanwhile in a separate letter to Hinds, Solomon has raised concerns about the appointment of persons to the Technical Team to review power tariffs for Linden. It was a rise in power tariffs that had sparked the month-long protests and unrest in Linden.
The agreement covering the Technical Team and other matters was signed between the Government and Region 10 on August 21.
Solomon in his letter to Hinds dated August 27 pointed out that the full terms of the agreement was published in the Stabroek News of August 22 and that the three Region 10 nominees have since raised with him the following:
(1) When, and from whom, may they expect to receive formal letters of appointment to the Technical Team to which they have been proposed for appointment?
(2) What are the procedures, re establishment of the Technical Team, that will be followed to endow that Team with the legal authority to request, and to be supplied without demur by those requested, such information that is necessary for the Team and its individual members to pursue the work defined in the Terms of Reference of the Agreement?
(3) What are the arrangements that will be put in place to facilitate the work of the Technical Team with respect to the physical, financial, and other organisational arrangements that are necessary for the Team and its individual members to pursue expeditiously the work defined in the Terms of Reference of the Agreement?
(4) Specifically to … who in the Government will the Team be required to tender its fortnightly and its final reports as for the Region the Regional Chairman shall receive same each (fortnight).
(5) What is the intended starting date of the 60 day period allowed for the delivery of the final report, especially given the circumstance of the Technical Team having not as yet been formally legally established, of several members not having been formally notified of their membership, and of the matters raised in the previous four sections not as yet having (been) determined?
Solomon said that he looked forward to a speedy response on the matter.
Meanwhile, sources say the two sides have agreed their nominees for the Economic Committee which will be looking at the prospects for an economic programme for Linden.
The nominees for the government are NICIL Head, Winston Brassington, Tarachand Balgobin of the Ministry of Finance and consultant/advisor Coby Frimpong. The Region 10 team comprises Sylvester Carmichael, Aubrey Norton and Haslyn Parris. The two sides are yet to agree on a chairman. Two candidates are being discussed at the moment.
The Terms of Reference for the Economic Committee are:
a) Examine all studies, all plans, all sectors and their resources in use, new resources and human resources and develop a sustainable development plan for Linden and Region 10.
b) Review all initiatives, including LEAP and LEN with the aim of gleaning the lessons to be learnt from these initiatives and make recommendations for new initiatives.
c) Review Linden and Region 10’s facilities and capacity for food self sufficiency and to the extent feasible develop a plan for self sufficiency as part of the Regional Development Plan.
d) Examine the employment situation of Linden in particular and Region 10 in general and make appropriate recommendations.
e) Review the existing framework within which private investment is attracted to Linden and Region 10
and make the appropriate recommendations.
f) To identify the issues as they relate to policies, administrative capacity, skills development, investment climate etc., which need to be addressed in order to make the new development plan successful.
g) Assess the availability of funding from grants, Donors (bilateral and multilateral), the private sector and the diaspora and make the relevant recommendations for the funding of the Regional Development Plan.
h) To hold consultations with the residents of Linden and Region 10 as well as specific interest groups such as the business, religious farming communities, women and other civil society organizations.
i) To consult with the relevant Ministries and agencies such as GO-INVEST to ascertain the present plans and potential avenues for further expansion of the economic base of the region with specific regard to agriculture, information based technology, value-added manufacturing and the services sector. *
The Economic Committee will have the benefit of the existing institutional arrangement and the expertise of the Regional Democratic Council and relevant Ministries in the discharge of their functions. The Economic Committee will also give priority to development projects which will bring the fastest benefits to the Committee.
The Economic Committee will report to the two sides monthly and present its final report within 90 days.
