…as staff forced to avoid rotten boards in building
Skeldon Post Office is in bad shape, and is in need of urgent repairs. This was told to the Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) Regional Democratic Council (RDC) on Thursday.
In fact, it was the second time the issue was highlighted at the RDC.
Five months ago, Councillor Shurla Scott informed the RDC of the situation, saying then that the state of the building that is used for the Post Office at Skeldon was an eyesore.
On Thursday, she pointed out that the situation has gotten worst and poses a great danger to pensioners, who visit the facility on a monthly basis. Scott said the Post Office is predominantly being used by senior citizens, and she has seen first-hand the dangers posed by the dilapidated building.
“I stood in anguish this week when I passed, because I literally saw our seniors testing the floor to identify the stronger boards,” she disclosed. She referred to the building as being in a deplorable state.
“Disgusting condition” were her words in describing the building which houses the Skeldon Post Office.
“This has been so for the longest while. Our seniors face a lot of challenges, and even the staff has to work under such conditions,” she explained.
According to the councillor, the building was rehabilitated back in 2013, when $13M was paid to the contractor who executed the project.
“My point is that we are in 2023, and we talk so much about our seniors. I have seen the work of the Ministry of Human Services; I applaud that Ministry,” she said. “But I cannot ignore that for our seniors every month. I believe that one day we will hear that those pensioners literally passed through the floor – that is how bad it is.” She called on the RDC to intervene.
Mention was also made of the deplorable state of the Eversham and Whim Post Offices.
Region Six Chairman David Armogan, addressing the issue, acknowledged that there are some deplorable Post Offices in the region, and promised to have the relevant agencies informed of the concerns.
He said the responsible agencies need to address the issue so as to bring some level of relief to persons who use the facilities. He pointed out that pensioners go to the Post Offices on a monthly basis to uplift their old age pension payments. (G4)
