RDC to approach Govt for assistance

…as wharf continues to rapidly deteriorate

Weeks after being instructed by the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) to write the Public Infrastructure Ministry requesting emergency support to rehabilitate the Charity Marketing Centre Wharf, Regional Executive Officer Rupert Hopkinson said he is yet to do so.
During the last RDC meeting, Region Two Chairman Devanand Ramdatt asked Hopkinson to again write Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson on the importance of Government’s intervention, noting that emergency works are needed to fix the piles on which the massive concrete structure rests.
When contacted on Saturday, Hopkinson said the situation remains the same and he is yet to write to the Minister requesting Government’s assistance. He did not relate when he would dispatch the letter but did say that the region cannot afford to undertake a project of such magnitude.
Business owners in the region are contending if mechanisms are not urgently put in place to save the 38-year-old facility, the entire structure would soon collapse into the Pomeroon River, taking with it millions of dollars in goods and other valuables, not to mention priceless lives.
The waterfront is an important hub for many to ply their trade throughout the week, while thousands of customers utilise the services that are being offered. Businesses housed inside the Charity Marketing Centre serve residents in the far north corners of Guyana, and if this building should collapse due to negligence, great financial losses would be incurred as well as deprivation of much needed services.
About a year ago, a study was done by local engineers, who recommended immediate replacement of all the piles upon which the structure rests. An examination of the underside of the structure reveals that all the piles are seriously rotted and only a few are providing support to the building.
During a visit to the wharf earlier this year, Regional Chairman Ramdatt told this publication that the region had, last August, communicated with the Public Infrastructure Ministry about the structure and the urgency for remedial work to be conducted thereon.
At the moment, the green heart pillars supporting the wharf are rotten and shaking; and despite repeatedly being cautioned, over 30 folks continued to vend on the wharf.
“We have gotten reports that heavy-duty trucks are driving on top the structure. The structure, as it is, cannot withstand weight, and it can very well collapse. We have been educating persons about this, but still reports indicate persons are driving on it in the nights,” the Regional Chairman had explained.
During interviews, many vendors declared that they depend on vending to support their families, and have called on the relevant authorities to take their plight into consideration. The Charity/Urasara Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) placed bars in an effort to block vehicles from traversing the wharf, since the situation was too dangerous.