Dear Editor,
The caption ‘Ministers promise big improvements for Kwakwani and Ituni’ and the story which follows is something that readers have grown accustomed to (SN, February 10). Every visit by government ministers over the years reflects the same problems and promises. There are hardly ever any new problems arising.
As a concerned resident, I make it my duty to be in the know of what is going on in and around my community. The most pressing issue is the Kwakwani-Linden road as the rainy weather shows us the true state of it. Editor, the distance from Kwakwani to Linden is about the same as that from Linden to Georgetown, but the travelling time is about three times greater.
During the Poverty Reduction Strategy Programme consultation in the early 2000s, it was calculated that to do one mile of this road, the cost would be $5M. I am sure that cost has gone up, so what are we going to do with $100M on a 65-mile road that was destroyed due to poor road maintenance? With all the money spent on this road over the years, the most that was done was grading, which makes it lower that the shoulders.
I am a bit disappointed that in the article it was not mentioned that at a previous meeting with Kwakwani residents, Minister Trotman agreed that before any maintenance work is done on this road, they would be consulted to determine which section would be addressed.
Editor, according to what was reported, we, the residents, may not get a proper road until 2018, and only $100M was allocated to do maintenance. Using the formula of $5M per mile, we are urging that 20 miles be fixed in such a manner that will require little or no maintenance. That is building, and it should be done after meaningful consultation and agreement with residents who are the end users.
Yours faithfully,
Jocelyn Morian
