Patterson denies being contacted by regional authorities

Charity Market sunken wharf

Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson has said the authorities of Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) never contacted him in relation to the Charity Market Wharf that has sunk more than 6 inches in the past year.
However, Region Two Chairman Devanand Ramdatt is maintaining that he had written the minister, informing him of the state of the wharf and requesting intervention of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI).
Engineers have declared that the Charity Market Wharf has sunk more than six

inches and currently poses a serious risk to life and limb, but vendors utilizing the facility are refusing to relocate until the Public Infrastructure Ministry mobilizes a team to effect urgent repairs on the wharf.
In a previous interview Region 2 Chairman Devanand Ramdatt and Vice Chairwoman Nandranie Coonjah related that they had contacted the MPI for assistance, but were yet to receive a response.
In a telephone interview with the Guyana Times, Minister Patterson said, “The

Charity Market is not the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure; it is the responsibility of the Region. I have been reading the news, and no approach has been made to my ministry. We highlighted to them quite a while ago that it is an area of concern.
“I don’t know how the ministry’s name is being called now. I’ve seen reports that the Chairman said he had written to me, and I don’t think that is quite true, but it is a regional problem. The Charity Market is and always has been under the control of the Region. We do the sea defence. The wharf is the (responsibility of the) region, not the ministry,” he explained.
Ramdatt, meanwhile, maintains that the minister was made aware of the situation,

and that technical officers from the MPI had even been dispatched to the region some time ago.
“How is it that his technical staff was here? How is it that the matter is engaging the Sea Defence Board, which comes under his responsibility? As far as I know, wharfs and so on come under the responsibility of that ministry,” Ramdatt noted.
Vice Chairwoman of the Region, Nandranie Coonjah, has said the Charity Market Wharf has been engaging the attention of the region’s Works Committee since August of 2017, and that is the reason for the initial study on the wharf. She explained that the Region 2 Engineer was engaged, and he and a team ventured below the wharf and discovered the rapid deterioration.
While under there, it was observed that there were large cracks on the floor, several boards were rotting, and most of the piles beneath the wharf were determined to be no longer able to support the structure; thus the solid concrete wharf is sitting precariously on a few remaining piles, and the prognosis is that it would likely collapse.
Vendors have reported that they are aware of the dangers posed by the state of the wharf, but they maintain that they “need a solid plan” before they can relocate their businesses. They are also waiting on the MPI to officially commence work on the wharf and remove them from the spaces they currently occupy.
The structure is 32 years old and requires urgent attention, since over 30 persons utilize it for vending, and countless others for other purposes. It is also a parking area for many persons using their boats to traverse the Pomeroon River.