The Premier made the appeal while expressing disappointment at some telecoms providers that have authorised service disconnections for residents who have been unable to pay their bills during the ongoing pandemic.

He said he has received numerous reports of disconnections from residents.

“We are asking all telecom companies during this lockdown period, which was before and now; please do not to cut the services of the people for non-payment … For those who have done it, please put the people’s phones back on. They couldn’t get out to pay because of the curfew,” Fahie said in an appeal to local telecommunications providers recently.

“Some of you have told me that it was an automated system that had it done. But then go and turn the automated system into standard and get the people phones back on because that is not right. And as a government, I can’t stand for that,” he further expressed.

Don’t evict your tenants

The Premier similarly appealed to landlords to be understanding towards their delinquent tenants who are experiencing hardship or whose lives have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Please don’t evict the tenants during this time because some persons were laid off, some persons haven’t been able to get to the bank,” Fahie said.

And while also calling on supermarkets not to participate in price gouging, the Premier argued that times of crisis should never be used as an opportunity to take advantage of persons who may be struggling.