Small mob stages protest against load shedding
GREAT BAY – A small group of around thirty frustrated Gebe customers staged a protest at the utilities company’s main office on the Pondfill yesterday morning against the relentless load shedding of the past week.
The protest was peaceful, though at a certain moment the police had to intervene when protesters blocked traffic on the Pondfill. A Gebe-manager invited a few of the protesters inside – among them the leader of the Christian Party Wycliffe Smith and Sjaoul Richardson.
One man was wearing a tee shirt with a new explanation for the Gebe-acronym: Generating Everything But Electricity.
The power of the people is stronger than the people in power, a placard read. Another one stated: Was going to make a good sign but Gebe went.
A large sign urge people to join the protest with the text: To protest is your responsibility to lead your country in the right direction.
“You have to stand together,” one man was saying to no one in particular. “But as soon as you see a camera you are turning away. That is a sign of weakness.”
Wycliffe Smith did not turn away from the cameras,. “We all experience these outages,” he told reporters. “We need proper electricity supply; that is the reason why we are here. I have to support all those who are feeling the pain; I am feeling the pain too.”
Smith added that, according to him, “Gebe is doing their best. But their best is not good enough. People and businesses are suffering and we are really frustrated with what is going on.”
“We are looking for answers and for solutions,” another protester told reporters. “We want to know how this is going to be fixed. Nothing has changed here between 1991 and 2016. Things are getting worse and worse.”
While the protesting mob seemed to consist of around thirty people, it turned out that quite a few of them were actually in line, waiting to pay their bills.
When protesters blocked the Pondfill, frustrated motorists had to turn around. After the police showed up, the road was cleared again.
Photo caption: The scene at Gebe’s main office yesterday morning. Photo screenshot
