Head of the National Mining Syndicate Cheryl Williams on Tuesday renewed a call for government and the responsible authorities to fix the Puruni Road, in Region Seven, while saying that she was forced to close her mining operations for two weeks due to its poor state.
Speaking at a press conference, Williams contended that the road has deteriorated significantly over the last few months after being neglected for over a year and a half. “As a result of the deplorable state of the road, miners, who have no choice but to utilise it to access their mining blocks and camps, have been injured and in some cases died,” she said.
The road, which runs from Itaballi through Papishao, is the only entrance and exit to various sections of the Cuyuni-Mazaruni district and Williams said because of its condition, most miners struggle to transport supplies that are vital to keeping their operations afloat. “I had to shut down my operations for over two weeks because I can’t get the fuel. I buy fuel from a supplier in Puruni and the truck took forever to reach with the fuel,” she said.
