Anna Regina residents complain about substandard road works

Residents living close to Station Street in Anna Regina, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam)  are complaining about the poor, sub-standard and sloppy works executed there by a contractor they describe as “inexperienced”, who  was hired by the Regional Administration,  through its Regional Tender Board (RTB) system.

According to the residents, from the initial stages of the project, there have been several requests to halt the works; however, the concerns raised were disregarded by the engineers in charge, and instead the road was completed.
They are claiming that the road shoulders were made with mud instead of the standard materials, with many saying that they witnessed the contractor removing the mud from a nearby trench. According to the residents, a report was made to a senior regional official; however, the contractor continued with the project.
“We spoke out on numerous occasions, it’s taxpayers money building roads; as such, we have every right to speak out: the work done on the street was sloppy and lacked proper supervision by those who were put in charge,” residents explained.
Although the road was recently rehabilitated, it is currently riddled with pot holes and residents are predicting that within a few months’ time, millions of dollars more will have to be expended for rehabilitation works.
On numerous occasions, the matter engaged the attention of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC). Government Councillor Naitram had initially raised concerns about the contractor, and made calls for the works to be redone or the contractor held accountable by the RTB, for the defective works.
Alluding to the next steps, Region Two Chairman Devanand Ramdatt pointed out that the matter involved the RDC and suggestions, as well as findings, were forwarded to the clerk of the RDC, Regional Executive Officer (REO) Rupert Hopkinson for attention.
He said the position of the RDC was the defaulting contractor should face disciplinary action. In addition, Ramdatt said based on feedback, the contractor did not follow the bill of quantity for the project, and the project was slowly executed. The Chairman urged members of the RTB to launch an investigation into the matter and to ensure there was greater scrutiny of the said contractor in the future.