-community to soon benefit from electrification

RESIDENTS of Mount Sinai, commonly referred to as Angoy’s Avenue, a squatters’ community on the eastern fringes of the New Amsterdam township are expressing concern over a current water project, and the subsequent damage to the recently rehabilitated roads.

“The contractor digging up the road to lay the pipelines, but when he is finished, he just pulling some dirt over the pipe. That’s not fair, we had all-weather roadways,” said a peeved resident who took the media to have a look at what was happening.
Another resident said that what is currently being undertaken by the contractor cannot be considered as road-rebuilding.
When the Guyana Chronicle visited the former squatters’ community, pipelines had been laid and covered with a mixture of earth and stone.
Region 6 (East Berbice/Corentyne) Chairman David Armogan said the issue has been brought to his attention and his administration is concerned, as the Government had recently spent millions of dollars to re-surface the entire road network in that area.
“What we are doing now is laying pipelines in the same way we do in all the regularised areas,” Armogan explained.
In addition, we are taking photographs of the road in its present state. When the contractor concludes the project, he will have to repair the road,” the  chairman said, referring to one of the clauses in the contract.
“The regional administration is now monitoring the project. We have instructed the Guyana Water Authority to tell us of the various locations where the contractor will be deployed so that he can be monitored.”
The current project is aimed at improving residents’ access to potable water. Previously, some residents had to walk distances to access this most essential commodity.
Meanwhile, developmental works had not taken place in that community for more than two decades, because of an injunction filed by the Angoy’s Avenue Co-op Society community against Government. That injunction has since been withdrawn, paving the way for Government to carry out works there.
Currently, larger pipelines are being installed. This will allow residents to connect to the network and that project is being carried out by the Ministry of Housing and Water.
The Mount Sinai system will be connected to the New Amsterdam network, which will result in residents receiving treated water.
Following concerns raised by residents, Guyana Water Inc. officials have been asked to meet with the contractor who had been allowing residents to remove the earth which was dug, to fill yards instead of using it to resurface the roadways.
Meanwhile, based on a promise by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, an electricity project is soon to commence in that community.
According to Armogan, Mount Sinai North, will be the next area in Berbice to benefit from the electrification programme.
“There are stockpiling poles now at GPL. Right now they are finalising the contract to have the poles planted and wires run.”
However, one of the areas of contention for residents is that Guyana Power and Light (GPL) has set as one of its pre-qualification requirements, documented ownership of property before homes can be electrified. Residents of that community have been squatting for decades, and are still to obtain land titles.
Armogan noted that the issue is currently being addressed, as the Government is seeking to have the area regularised.
“We are also looking at giving titles to these people. Presently, what the Government is doing is looking at a cost, because they have to pay for regularisation.”
Residents argue that they should not be made to pay high sums of money for land titles.
“I can’t see Government asking us to pay $300,000 for our own land.  Is 35 years I living here. They can’t tell us to pay the same amount that they want for land in them new housing scheme,” according to a nurse.
However, Armogan noted that the cost will be less for those residents. “What Government is looking at is merely a sum to recover the legal cost to process the land titles.”

(By Jeune Bailey Van Keric)