– Ministers, officials promise relief to affected communities
An the wake of recent protests and strike action by residents in several mining communities across Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) over the deplorable state of access roads and internal bridges, Government Ministers and regional officials visited the affected communities on Wednesday.
The team comprised Minister within the Public Infrastructure Ministry Annette Ferguson; Indigenous People’s Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock; Region 10 Chairman Renis Morian; Linden Mayor Carwyn Holland; Regional Vice Chairman
Minister within the Public Infrastructure Ministry, Annette Ferguson speaking to residents of the mining community during the visit
Elroy Adolph, Member of Parliament (MP) Jermaine Figueira and other regional officials.
The officials visited several areas including Coomacka, Three Friends, Yaribo and Old England/Syberian where they met with residents. National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frederick Flatts also visited the communities to assess several issues plaguing residents and road users.
Minibus drivers plying the routes were joined by concerned residents in a protest over the deplorable state of the roads and bridges since last week.
Minister Ferguson assured the residents that their concerns would be addressed; however, she was unable to say how soon relief would come as she explained the system of procurement. She did assure them that it was not a case of them being neglected.
“We cannot do everything one time. So now that we are here on the ground, we can see what we can do for 2017 and what we can do for 2018. I understand that your community has been neglected for some time. We only come in to Government in 2015, but things will happen…I’m here, I see what’s going on and we will take some actions…Let us see between us and the Region (RDC), what we can do,” the Minister told residents.
During a tour of the affected bridges, residents expressed dissatisfaction, as they noted that $4.5 million had been set aside for repairs to the Coomacka Bridge, but the contractor had carried out substandard work. The revetment work on the bridge recently collapsed.
“Our main focus now is our bridges. We know that once our bridges do, our roads can be done,” a resident noted.
The Regional Chairman, during an assessment of the bridges in the communities, noted that the Government’s focus was on rehabilitating such roads and bridges, adding that the issues dated back as long as 15 years.
“Our efforts now, based on the Government’s projection that we’re doing a new road to Lethem, our projection is that we want to reach the people with proper roads, proper bridges,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister Allicock told residents that his Ministry was working closely with other Ministries in an effort to bring relief to residents. He called for the voice of reason to prevail and urged the community to remain united.
Strike called off
Following the visit, drivers plying the mining routes made a decision to call off the strike; however, they promised to remain vigilant to ensure that their expectations were met. Robert Gentle, a minibus driver who operates the Coomacka route, expressed appreciation for the visit by the team, on behalf of the affected drivers and members of the community.
“We’re grateful, we’re thankful and from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for coming. Thank you for the help you’ve promised. This is what we expected, somebody to come and say ‘well, look, this is what would happen'”, he said. The team also visited the Rockstone community to assess the possible threat of erosion.
