Dear Editor,

With the collapse of the manganese company at Mathews Ridge in Region One, the community of Port Kaituma suffered from a lack of employment opportunities which made it dreary and run-down. But with the advent of the Barama Company which set up business and opened roads and employed a large number of persons from all walks of life, lots of different activities began, including miners taking equipment far into the interior, which created more employment and caused more money to circulate in the community. Also foreign companies now seek to invest in the area.

Port Kaituma today is a thriving community with a number of hotels, grocers, discos, bakeries and other small industries. But the Port Kaituma community needs lots of support from the regional administration. The roads are in a deplorable state of disrepair; there is no water flowing through the taps because the pump station is not working since the pump attendants have not been paid for quite some time; there is no electricity because the power station is down for want of a small part which officials from the region claim they have at Mabaruma. The hospital which was recently repaired is leaking, and the vehicle on loan which the administration has and was used by an unauthorized driver during the Easter season for sporting and fun, is now damaged and parked for repairs.

These and other areas of concern need to be addressed urgently by the regional administration.

Yours faithfully,
Desmond Fernandes, MP