Port Kaituma: Disgust and frustration over the state of the access road linking Port Kaituma to Matthews Ridge in Region One (Barima-Waini) translated to protest action yesterday in Port Kaituma. The move was characterized by parents removing their children from the Port Kaituma Primary School and taking to the thoroughfare with placards to state their concerns over the state of the access road and the fact that nothing is being done to address the situation.
Among the concerns raised is that with the rainy season the state of the road has deteriorated to an impassable state even to pedestrians.
Just recently drivers who utilize the road had highlighted their concerns that the condition had moved from bad to worse in a matter of months with nothing remedial being done.
Reports are that some amount of money was allocated to rehabilitate the road but to date nothing has been initiated. According to one driver who frequents the road the only rehabilitation that was done during the course of last year was the patching of a few holes. He maintained that nothing further was done leaving the road condition to further deteriorate, effectively hampering his and other drivers’ livelihoods.
Accessing the approximately 30-mile long loam road comes at a toll cost of $5,000 to buses and land cruisers, $12,000 for trucks and $75,000 for excavators and these vehicles usually become stuck for several hours until assistance comes along.
Given the advanced deplorable state of the road, drivers had earlier this month planned to blockade the thoroughfare but were advised by police officials to refrain from such action. However, they had issued an appeal for the relevant authorities to address the state of the access road.
However, the road has since become an even greater concern and a growing challenge to access, especially for students who are forced to trek its slushy surface, to get to school, creating an alarming insanitary condition. It was against this background that the protest action was orchestrated by the road users including teachers, parents and drivers who utilize the roadway.
Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn in an invited comment yesterday said that while he is not aware of the condition of the road or the dilemma faced by the residents who access it, he intends to investigate their concerns. “What I do know is that there have been a lot of rainfalls recently and they have been using the road and we have been losing portions of it as a result. I am personally not aware of the situation but I will ask my people to look into it,” the Minister said.
You must be logged in to post a comment.