Dear Editor,
Hours before the stern warning was handed to gold producers on smuggling and illegalities, a daring smuggling operation was carried out in Corentyne, Berbice. This too should have formed part of the stern warning portfolio.
The power outage which occurred at the opening of the premier GuyExpo event from all accounts was not a national occurrence, but an isolated, localized one to the venue. It seems the internal system could not take off the upsurge in the load demand.
This has strands of similarity to the national situation some time ago, when we were experiencing daily power outages which was attributed to the aging national grid which could not cope with the increase in demand due to the development thrust taking place.
The lessons from that episode were not taken on board with this latest development.
The high volume of exhibitors at this year’s event should have meant the electricity infrastructure and capabilities should have been checked to ensure adequacy and capacity.
Whether this was done and to what level is still to be determined. The embarrassment was palpable.
It is noted though the national company was quick to distance itself from bearing any responsibility. Not so fast! A national event where electricity is a factor means the national company has a responsibility to ensure a safe, uninterrupted supply.
The necessary steps should have been taken to make certain of this. National events are not planned in isolation but in collaboration.