WHEN the idea of constructing the Suddie Car Park was conceived by Riverstown-Annandale Neighbourhood Democratic Council, and the announcement was made at a meeting of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) sometime in 2007, I, as a member of the RDC, advised the Council that the proposed site for the car park, that is south of the Suddie Post Office would not be suitable to hire car drivers, the mini bus drivers and most importantly, the commuters because the site was about 200 metres from the hospital, the health centre, the drug store, the supermarket , the market and more than 300 metres from the High Court and the Magistrate’s Court.
I was thinking of old people walking from the hospital to the park, people on crutches, sick people, mothers fetching grocery from the market, pregnant women and mothers with babies.
The ideal area would have been the vacant piece of land behind the Police Station and a few metres away from the medical institutions and other main buildings aforementioned.
It was said by senior regional officials that the police would not want to give that piece of land. I then suggested the discussion between the subject ministers to which the Home Affairs and Local Government can be fruitful, because recently we have seen land belonging to the Post Office Corporation with building thereon given to a businessman for the purpose of a restaurant and land owned by the state with building also given to a businessman who now operates a drug store all within the hub of activities at Suddie.
For reasons best known to the powers that be, my advice was ignored, and the construction of the car park went ahead. Now the same people that it was built for are crying out. The drivers are prosecuted for not using the park because it is not conveniently located, the travelling public is complaining of the distance they have to walk for transportation.
Very often we hear about consultations and discussions with stakeholders and beneficiaries but this is classic example of where talk is cheap.
I don’t think that I would ever see regional officials or their families using that car park or walking that long distance from the hospital looking for transportation as most of them are being chauffeur driven.