Dear Editor,
I am so happy and proud to see that my fellow Berbicians on the Upper Corentyne are finally standing up and saying ‘no more,’ to GPL. It is good to see residents writing letters to the daily newspapers, and talking on Facebook and other social media about the national disaster that GPL has been, and calling for an urgent improvement in the electricity supply provided to us. I hope that GPL’s senior management is paying attention to the problems being raised by our residents, and that it will take urgent steps to immediately fix the significant problems in delivering a dependable electricity supply to Berbicians.
For too long we have been silent as we were utterly disrespected and ill-treated by this entity masquerading as a utility company, but which in reality is more like a blackout company. For too long we have been silent as the number of blackouts per year have increased, as electricity supply has decreased and become less reliable, and as politicians across the spectrum have abandoned our communities after elections ended. For too long we could only take our suffering in silence, and try to joke that GPL really means ‘Get Plenty Lamps,‘ but the time for jokes is over, and we are demanding urgent action now.
To GPL, I say, ‘no more,’ we will no longer accept frequent blackouts. We are not going to accept any more empty promises. We are not going to tolerate being disrespected, and ill-treated, and treated like second-class citizen. We will not stay silent when GPL’s emergency hotline is busy 24/7 and residents are unable to make legitimate complaints and inquiries. We are not going to go away and sulk in silence, like they may hope. Their days as an inefficient, incompetent company will come to an end, whether they like it or not.
To GPL’s senior management, I say they should not forget that they work for us, the consumers. We pay their big salaries, and subsidize their operations through our taxes. So don’t tell us to be patient for four more weeks, when everyone knows that the company has a horrible track record of keeping its promises.
In any other country in the world, the senior management would have all been fired for failing to achieve the most basic improvements in service.
They need to take a good, long, honest look at their operations and tell us why they haven’t been able to improve the power supply when GT&T has been able, in just a short time, to transform and improve the telecommunications sector in Guyana. Perhaps Joe Singh and Sonita Jagan should be placed in charge of GPL.
Editor, it is also time for politicians from all the major parties to realize that things have changed and that we are demanding action. We will only vote for parties that show us that they can effectively represent our needs in parliament, so this horrible electricity situation provides an opportunity for AFC and APNU to show Berbicians they are serious about representing us. If AFC and APNU show us they can accomplish something good for our community, then we will likewise support them in greater numbers.
To the PPP, I say, we will remember. Next election, trust me, we will remember how they abandoned us. We will remember that under their government, the electricity supply to our area reached what is probably its worst level ever. We will remember their indifference to our suffering and the hardships faced by our communities.
We will remember how they send Gail Teixeira, Anil Nandlall and Irfaan Ally on TV to do talk show after talk show attacking opposition members, but neglect us and cannot even visit us to understand our problems and help improve our quality of life.
Next elections we will take action with our votes.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
