Consideration is being given to rehabilitating about 187 miles of road near the Pakaraima Mountain Range in Region Eight to make trade and passage easier between the interlinking communities.
According to a Govern-ment Information Agency (GINA) press release, Region Eight Chairman Senor Bell said the enhancement plan includes building bridges over creeks along the road. He made this disclosure while accompanying Minister of Amerindian Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues and regional officials on a recent visit to some Amerindian communities in the Pakaraimas.
Bell said the project will take a number of years to complete because of the length of the road and as such emphasis will be placed on building bridges over the main rivers along the trail. He said other aspects of the project include degrading the hills which will be facilitated by an excavator Rodrigues promised to send to the region before year-end.
According to Bell, improved roadways are key to developing the region’s economy as they will provide a link to Lethem in Region Nine which will allow easy ingress of food supplies and other commodities. Once the roads are upgraded the region will no longer be heavily dependent on transportation via airplanes which is costly.
In her address to residents, Rodrigues said she was aware of the economic and other challenges they face. “I spoke with the Toshao of Kopinang and he told me that gasoline is $2,500 a gallon while sugar is $280 a pound,” she said, acknowledging that those figures were extraordinary and most likely due to the cost of air transportation.
However, Bell said the completion of roads in Region Eight will not be a full accomplishment without developing roads in Region Nine. He also voiced concern about the poor state of the roads between Karasabai and Yurongperu, which is the main linking area between the regions. “If Region Nine can put some more emphasis on their section, by the end of 2008 there should be much easier access. If no road works are done in Region Nine then all the works done internally in Region Eight would be a waste of time,” he said.
GINA said road works in Region Eight date back to 1969 when the first stretch of road was developed between Kamana and Orinduik by miners and a few businessmen. In 2000, the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development started exploration of a road link with villagers’ help, using “simple agricultural tools.”
These roads are now the main link in the Pakaraimas, which showcase some of the country’s most adventurous geological scenery. The area is one of the prime tourist locations in the country which recently became popular for the Mountain Safari adventure tour, which is a two-and-a-half day journey from Karasabai in Region Nine to Orinduik.
