Linden Utility Co-op recognised for providing over 50 years of service

The Linden Utility Services Co-op Society Limited (LUSCSL) was hailed for providing over 50 years of electricity services to the Linden community on the occasion of National Cooperative Week 2018, at an event hosted outside the Co-op’s compound last week.

The event, hosted by the Department of Cooperatives in collaboration with the Guyana National Cooperative Union Limited and the Guyana Cooperative Credit Union League, paid tribute to the Co-op, which was recognised for being one of the oldest Cooperatives in Guyana.
National Cooperative Week 2018 was observed under the theme “Cooperatives: Sustainable consumption and production of goods and services”.
Speaking at the event, which was attended by numerous employees and officials, Compliance Officer within the Department of Cooperatives at the Social Protection Ministry, Ann Abigail Arthur, congratulated the LUSCSL, highlighting that it started off with the primary goal of providing electricity, but went further by thinking outside of the box and has since developed an electrical shop and documents centre to serve the community.
She further noted that the LUSCSL has played a major role in providing employment in the Linden community. Since its registration over 50 years ago, Arthur said the Co-op has progressed tremendously in providing electricity to the Wismar community and has been true to this year’s theme. She further stressed the important role electricity played in education and the household and the role of the Co-op in ensuring provision of this. Additionally, Arthur noted that the membership of the LUSCSL, which supplies Wismar with electricity, can keep growing to include a wider cross-section of the community.
Linden Mayor Waneka Arrindell, in her address, stressed the importance of educating and letting Lindeners understand electricity consumption and conservation, as she congratulated the management and Board of the LUSCSL. She said it was evident how the Cooperative has grown over the years. The Mayor encouraged the Co-op’s team to look at youth initiatives and see what more could be done to expand its services. She further shared her hope that the LUSCSL would showcase itself more in the media so that students could learn and understand what was happening on the ground as well as its functions.
LUSCSL Secretary George Joaquin, in giving an overview of the Co-op, reminisced on when it started in 1960, as 25 workers approached the then bauxite company Demba to establish an electricity company on the Wismar shore. It was then known as “Coop Society”, but was later named the “Wismar Christianburg Electricity Supply Coop Society Limited” prior to being renamed the Linden Utility Services Co-op Society Limited. The Co-op now has over 5000 members or consumers and over 60 employees.