THERE is a general feeling that Port Kaituma and the Matarkai sub-region have been neglected over the years and development in such areas as potable water, infrastructure, education, health and social protection for residents have all fallen below expectations.This was the view expressed by residents of central Port Kaituma and the other villages on its outskirts when they met with Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs Sydney Allicock and Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure Annette Ferguson who paid a two-day visit to the area last week.

In central Port Kaituma which is usually referred to as “The Compound”, there is need for a well so that residents would no longer have to travel miles to get potable water.
Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, Timothy Peters said that if a well is drilled in the area residents would not have to “expense themselves to go ‘till down floor’ (several miles away from central Kaituma) in taxis to return with drinking water.”
He acknowledged that water does come through the taps in central Kaituma but that water is not good enough for drinking as it is polluted due to mining activities close to the creek.
Those who cannot go to the well several miles away would use the same creek water after boiling it while others add bleach to it. It costs $1,000 to go from central Port Kaituma to the well and back.
“If they could drill one closer to the Compound it will be better because people walk mostly to come to the Compound but no one really walks to go to the ‘floor’ for water and is only who having car and who could afford it might able to pay a taxi to go an bring clean water for their families to drink,” Peters explained.
Asked if the residents would come together to assist in making the well a reality for the community, Peters said “yes” but noted that they would be unable to contribute financially to such a venture and could just give of their time.
Another resident explained that during the dry season the hospital and the rest of community always face a problem, particularly in meeting the needs of children. According to the man, the water situation is a mess and while parents prevent their children from drinking it at home when they go to schools it is the same water that they drink as it is pumped into the tank.
ROAD WORKS
There is a general view that once the road works are carried out, the evident congestion within central Port Kaituma would be eased as persons may be willing to move to the other areas that can be developed. There are sections of the road that can only be traversed by trucks.
During a community meeting with Ministers Allicock and Ferguson, residents were eager to address various issues affecting the community.

One resident, Fitz Duke, said that the community of Port Kaituma is a “forsaken one” which is forced to bite the bullet. He called for the reopening of the mining area which has been locked off so that residents can go on with their lives.
With respect to the condition of the roads, the man said that, “We have in our community a rock that we call the black rock, we know financially it would be too strenuous on our administration to give us the kind of road that we would like to see but all I am asking or suggesting is that the big ‘lakes’, the big ‘ponds’, the creeks and streams that we have on our roads we could cap it, full it with this rock and start to make a foundation for the road. As it is right now there is no foundation for the road, over the years bulldozers and graders have removed every single thing of it and it’s the bare loom resting there now and when it rains the model M trucks with the 20, 30 barrels of fuel mess up the road,” Duke explained.
He added too that they would love to see a revetment to the entire water front area which is suffering erosion. He admitted that the exercise would be costly but after it is fixed there can be added economic benefits for the community as ships would have to pay when they dock.
Minister Ferguson in addressing the concerns of the residents said that there is no way that the government would be able to allocate funds to fix all the roads in Port Kaituma as there are other regions in which works have to be done but priority works will be executed.

By Leroy Smith