The Ministry of Agriculture’s Agricultural Support Services Project has not constructed any bridge at Ruby Back as published on the front page of the August 24, 2009 edition of the Kaieteur News.

The Ministry, through this project is currently in the process of constructing two new bridges at Barnwell Cross Dam, one of which was visited by Kaieteur News reporters on August 14, 2009 during a site inspection organised by the Ministry of Agriculture. They had declined an invitation to visit the other bridge, says a media release signed by Senior Civil Engineer Fredrick Flatts.

The bridge photographed on the front page of the August 24, 2009 edition of the Kaieteur News was built more than a decade ago under the IFAD funded East Bank Essequibo Development Project.

As a matter of fact, anyone who looks at the photograph of the bridge published would recognise that this is not a recently constructed bridge nor is it under construction.

Importantly to note is that the timber bearing piles of both bridges that are currently under construction at Barnwell cross dam are encased in concrete – thereby making the timber piles invisible. The wooden piles shown on the bridge in Kaieteur News are clearly visible making, the new engineering design absent, thus confirming that this bridge was/is not part of the existing project, the release said.

Further, the other media houses that attended the site visit on August 14, 2009 can easily verify that no bridge in the Ruby Backdam was identified as complete or under construction, let alone the mention of any cost.

The Ministry’s Agriculture Sector Development Unit sees this as a clear act of callous reporting and mischief to manufacture a perception of over-priced projects and wastage, a dishonest campaign intended to discredit the hard work of the sector to bring improvements to farming conditions.

We wish to recall that the projects executed are supported by our international partners and all activities received no objections, are externally supervised, and even audited by a professional accounting firm, the release concluded.