SOMETIMES I think that Guyana is such a wonderful place to be and then at other times, I wonder what’s wrong with the mind of Guyanese people. Recently I read an article in the KN (20th July, 2009) entitled “$78M Pump Station Laughable”. Well I want to say that the people in canal are very lucky to have this investment in their area but seem to have no interest in it.

When the government builds something of this nature, it is for the interest of the people living there, not for anyone else.

The article made mention of some person home that is three times larger and cost an approximate $6M. I am quite certain that this home could cost this amount but I wonder if this person has an engine and a foundation to hold this engine and all the other infrastructural work to be compared to a pump of this nature. Again, people need to be careful what they think, say and write.

I am quite sure that any of those farmers can make a request to the executing agency or agencies for a bill of quantity, shipment cost, construction cost etc and they will be afforded an opportunity to see it. Hence, this aspect of the matter can be dealt with simply.

When it comes to the aspect of workers, it has to be made clear that this is yet another form of job creation. But persons living in these areas are operating in a care free manner. A pump was installed with the intention of creating jobs for people there and now there are many difficulties in filling the existing vacancy. Now who do we blame for this?

Continuously authorities get blamed for not providing enough jobs and here is a very simple scenario where an effort is made to employ persons to work and they are not turning up. Again, who do we blame?

I do hope that the people of these communities which benefit from government projects will look more on the positive sides of things instead of just sitting there and expecting persons to come and spoon feed them. There are others who wish they had this privilege. Yet, there are other parts of the world where people don’t even get one meal a day; sometimes we need to sit and analyze all these situations and understand our position better.
FENTON WILLIAMS