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It’s not usually good public relations for big commercial businesses to come out swinging at other public bodies, in full view of the whole nation, and the world. Well, apparently everyone has decided to break ranks because nobody likes JPS.
There is a major campaign now underway in Jamaica against the Jamaica Public Service’s practice of charging exorbitantly high (and absolutely ridiculous) costs for electricity. The group cites that JPS (The sole distributor of electricity in Jamaica) has raised electricity rates by as much as 135 per cent in the last 11 years.
BIG Support
All the big boys and girls are supporting the campaign. These include “Digicel, Wisynco, Jamaica Broilers, GraceKennedy, Caribbean Producers as well as Sandals and the ATL Group” and they are listed in the full-page newspaper advertisements and on Facebook as endorsing the initiative.
One of the most vocal supporters of the Fight For Your Light movement has been Digicel. They have been tweeting about it and have even issued a statement about it.
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/Digicel_Jamaica/status/182210699211190272″]
Shortly after they also tweeted:
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/Digicel_Jamaica/status/182210706542837760″]
In a statement Digicel further outlined its support for the movement:
“Digicel supports ‘Fight For Your Light’ and we encourage others across Jamaica to join this Facebook movement. Businesses big and small cannot grow to their full potential with rising electricity rates — some have already had to shut down. By extension, the Jamaican economy won’t deliver on its true potential until the cost of electricity is dramatically reduced.”
Will It Do Any Good?
We get from the Facebook page, the full-page advertisement in this week’s Sunday papers and the TV interviews, that the group is supported and gaining steam. The questions though are: what is the group really trying to achieve in practical terms, can their goals actually be met, is this just another great big hype?
Sure the high cost of electricity is killing businesses in Jamaica left, right and center but is another forum for voicing our frustrations on the issue and not just flagging a very very dead horse? Is there anyone in Jamaica that at this moment likes anything about JPS?
Great movement, love the support, but maybe we need some practical goals – a mandate for the government to meet by a set date, or something like that.
What do you think?
