The President immediately responded to Mr. Corbin, both in writing and over the telephone, in which he outlined the various measures that the Government has taken and will be taking regarding the situation at Linden.

In his letter, the Guyanese Head of State thanked Mr. Corbin for his concerns and asked him for his party’s support in dealing with the situation.

The following is the text of the letter which President Jagdeo sent to Mr. Corbin on Wednesday (April 9), in response to a letter he received from the PNC/R Leader the same day:

“Dear Mr. Corbin, Thank you for your letter dated April 9, 2003.

I fully understand the discomfort and suffering facing the Linden community caused by the shutdown of the generating sets of the privately owned Linden Power Company.

I, too, share the view that Lindeners are not fully aware of the efforts being made to restore electricity and water supply and this has led to some amount of confusion in some quarters.

Since the collapse of LPC’s generators, the Government has been engaged on several fronts to bring relief to the community and to ensure a resumption of electricity and water supply.

Without going into the full details, some of which I have apprised you of on the telephone, I wish to recall some of the steps taken by the Government to address this situation.

1. On Saturday, I directed that two of the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) caterpillar sets be transported from Sophia in Georgetown to the LPC station. This was done on Saturday evening. Some difficulties were experienced in hooking up these two units into the Linden transmission system.

2. A power generating set has been relocated from Aroaima to Ituni to bring relief to residents in that area.

3. The Government has been working with LPC to accelerate the delivery of a needed component for its failed steam generating plant procured from the United States of America. This part landed in the country yesterday (Tuesday) and I am informed that it is being installed. Once the sets become operational, I am advised that there would be an adequate supply of electricity to the community before weekend.

You would appreciate that the information provided is based on best estimates from technical advisors.

These efforts hopefully will soon return normalcy to the area.

4. Notwithstanding, to supplement these arrangements, I have directed that two additional 1.25 megawatts sets be leased from MACORP to deal with the short-term power supply problems in Linden.

The lease has been signed and MACORP has assured the Government that the two power generating sets will leave the USA for Guyana on Friday.

As you would recognize, these are all short-term measures.

5. In order to have a reliable solution to the electricity supply situation in Linden, I met with the management of Omai Gold Mines Ltd. With a view to immediately, accelerating the design and construction of a new nine-megawatt power station in Linden. This is expected to be completed before the end of July as part of its investment plan in LINMINE.

6. To deal with the interruption of water supply, the Minister of Housing and Water was tasked with spearheading relief through the Guyana Water Inc. The Government has provided support to the regional administration to deliver water in tanks to various points in the community.

The Government has therefore been fully engaged in efforts to bring relief to the people of Linden.

The Prime Minister will be visiting Linden (April 10, 2003) to assess the relief efforts and to interact with the community.

On Monday (April 7), I indicated to the media that I will visit Linden. This will be undertaken in the coming days. The urgency now is to ensure that residents of Linden are not further discomforted.