Dear Editor,
Any government should have concern for the welfare of all the people, but it does not seem so at Kumaka Stelling in the North West District, Region One.
Kumaka is the main shopping area in the district and also has the wharf where the North West ferry and other boats take passengers and cargo. There is a portion of land that has been sinking for a number of months into the Aruka River. This portion of land has a number of business places/homes; it also has the old Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) wharf and bond which are not in use by T&HD at the moment. Within the last few months some parts have sunk about 18” to 2 feet. Some of the buildings can be seen leaning towards the river while others have been propped up. The greatest concern is that when the tide is high the water gets into some of the houses which cause children to be on the road.
Being the main marketing area which is profitable for business, the business people are not moving, although possible danger is there. If the portion of land should become submerged in the river the business people, the families and customers’ lives could be lost.
The administration should have this concern investigated and addressed urgently by sending in engineers or other technical personnel to investigate and advise on the way forward. Also there is only one road to this shopping/ waterfront area; the road is in a deplorable state of disrepair.
Recently the holes/ponds in the road were filled with mud which caused more concern for the residents and owners of vehicles, because when it rains it gets slushy and when the sun shines it becomes dusty, and to remedy the situation the administration put some large lampposts across the road, covered them with mud and called them ‘sleeping policeman.’ The sleeping policemen are left as lumber across the road and are causing damage to low-slung vehicles. The administration should do the sensible thing and repair this portion of road properly, because the worst part is only about 100 yards long, and at the same time some urgent repairs should be done on the Mabaruma-Hosororo ‘swamp’ road.
Yours faithfully,
Desmond Fernandes, MP
Editor’s note
We are sending a copy of this letter to Region One Chairman, Mr Fermin Singh, for any comments he may wish to make.
