Berbice River residents are expressing their disgust at the access path which they have to utilize to board boats when leaving New Amsterdam to head home along the river and are pleading with the Mayor and Town Council to fix it.
The only track, which leads to the wharf where the residents disembark to enter the town of New Amsterdam and board to return home, is located aback the market itself. It is accessed through the side of the market (within the market’s compound) managed by the New Amsterdam Mayor and Town Council. Yesterday, at the wharf, there were eight passenger boats and two cargo vessels which are used to transport building materials and other items to residents living within the various villages along the Berbice River. Almost everyone expressed their frustration at having to deal with the track filled with potholes.
Geraldine Swarving, 47, a re-migrant from St. Martin, yesterday told Stabroek News that she is currently building her property at Tacama, Upper Berbice River. Describing the only access way to and from the boat as ‘atrocious’, Swarving said, “It is smelly, it is gross and disgusting.” She said when accessing the track, they are forced to wear long-boots if they do not want their feet to get wet and dirty. According to the woman, a one-way fare via boat from Tacama to the New Amsterdam Wharf is $8,000 per person. Pointing out that boat owners have to pay a fee to the council, Swarving stressed that the “wharf is a great source of revenue for the town,” arguing that it is unfair for residents living along the Berbice River to deal with such conditions in 2022.
The woman then spoke about the struggles of transporting materials through the track. She explained that small items are taken to the boats by hired cart men who are forced to trek the deplorable access way, while larger materials are taken in by canters who also experience issues getting to the wharf. Both carts and canters are hired by persons to transport their materials/ items to the boat. “It’s filthy, it’s like a pig pen… its heart-breaking and we shouldn’t have to experience something like this.” According to Swarving, Tacama has between 800 – 1000 residents while the other villages along the Berbice River have thousands of residents as well. Persons venture out to New Amsterdam multiple times per week to purchase items within the town “and it is unfair that this is what we have to go through.”
Meanwhile, Stabroek News spoke to several boat owners yesterday who said that they have pleaded with the council numerous times in the past to carry out some works on the track but nothing is ever done. “Every time you tell them nothing don’t happen and people does complain to us. People does struggle to fetch out and bring in them things”, one boat owner relayed. Another pointed out that since it is the only track to the wharf, passengers have no other choice but to make do with its condition.
