-calls for retraction
MINISTER of Works and Hydraulics Mr. Robeson Benn yesterday confirmed that the breach at 40 miles, Mabura  has been sealed, and  that the other at 42 miles will be completed by Saturday, by which time the road is expected to be returned to its full use. Following the disclosure, he proceeded to take the Kaieteur News to task for its “highly irresponsible  [and] patently false”  report on the situation with the road carried in yesterday’s edition of the paper.
“The Kaieteur News article of July 14, 2010 discussing the scenario was fraught with so many inaccuracies, to the point where one can only assume that there is a deliberate attempt to mislead the public, ” he said, and is insisting that the report be corrected.
According to the Kaieteur News, the rains combined with poor maintenance practices had severed the main link between coastal Guyana and Lethem two weeks ago, when  two of the culverts that spanned the roadway collapsed.
The newspaper also reported that there had been no move on the part of the authorities to remedy the situation, and that so frustrated are the people moving between the coast and Lethem,  that they are wondering whether there is a conspiracy to torpedo the movement of people between Guyana and Brazil. Minister Benn said that it was grossly inaccurate to say that the breaches had occurred two weeks ago.
In response to the newspaper’s claim that the two culverts collapsed two weeks ago, Minister Benn said:  “This is grossly inaccurate, since the repercussions of such a collapse would not have escaped the notice of the Ministry of Public Works and Communications, nor the media, nor the public over such an extended period.”
Giving a detailed account of what had transpired, Minister Benn said: “Following heavy rains on Sunday, July 11, a culvert at 42 miles on the Linden-Lethem road collapsed, rendering that section of the road impassable. Additionally, some erosion at 40 miles created some difficulty for motorists due to erosion of the roadway.
“As soon as the Ministry heard of the information of the damaged sections of the road, immediate steps were taken to have repairs done. As a result, the section at 40 miles has been fully rehabilitated, and works have commenced at 42 miles, where the pipe culverts of increased capacity will be used.
“Repairs to this section are expected to be completed not later than Saturday July 17. Those are the facts of the situation. It is grossly inaccurate to report that the breaches occurred two weeks ago. We had trucks taking relief to Mahdia along that same road last week without any difficulties whatsoever.”
Noting that the statement that there was no move to remedy the situation and a reference to “a conspiracy to torpedo the movement of people between Guyana and Brazil” are ridiculous and malicious, he said that substantial sums are  being spent annually on the maintenance of the road.
“Expenditure in 2009 amounted to $244.4M, and the allocation for 2010 is $300M. Repairs are ongoing to bridges along the corridor, and tenders for further repairs of over $100M are being advertised. But inclement weather conditions over the past two months had hampered and curtailed planned road maintenance works.”
Contending that the Kaieteur  News had made no attempt to contact the Ministry on this issue, Minister Benn said that teams of road maintenance personnel are standing by to carry out remedial works on the road as soon as the weather improves.
“We cannot do any works now,” he said. “It would be a waste of money. We have to wait until the conditions are optimal to continue with the maintenance programme. We don’t want to tell the newspaper what to report, but they should have contacted us at the very least to get our comments on this situation.”
He is insisting that the erroneous news report by Kaieteur News be corrected.