…bus drivers urge swifter action to pave Linden-Lethem road

By Ariana Gordon
THE Government of Guyana (GoG) has committed to paving the Linden to Lethem road, but minibus drivers and one bus service operator are calling on the administration to move a bit swifter in bringing them relief.

Speaking with Guyana Chronicle on Saturday, minibus driver Garfield Parker said the situation has gotten from bad to worse. Currently, the worst part of the Linden to Lethem road is between Linden and Mabura.

Parker, who works with Carly’s Bus Service and has been working the Linden to Lethem route since 2003, said the 15-seater buses used to transport passengers to and from Lethem are not made for off-road (duty). “They are made for good roads in those developed countries and so on; paved roads. We take them off-road to some real bad conditions, so automatically the cost of maintenance goes up”, he said.

Parker said bus drivers are doing the best they can, but, unfortunately, the cost of spare parts continues to rise. For every trip made to Lethem or Georgetown, bus drivers are forced to undertake maintenance works on the vehicles.

In February, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo announced government’s intention to pave the Linden to Lethem roadway at the third ‘Public Day’, held at the Tabatinga Community Ground. He said that works on the Linden to Lethem Highway will begin soon, but plans to have the stretch of road paved have been discussed for a number of years. The Linden to Lethem road has, over the years, been undergoing maintenance works, but travel has been badly affected in the rainy season.

Contacted for a comment, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, assured that government is working to correct all of the deficiencies associated with the road. He could not state how much money will be spent on the project, although he noted that a new study is currently being done.

He said plans are in train to rehabilitate the Linden to Mabura road. “We are starting with the Wismar Bridge this year, and the Linden road works are going on

now…we are importing Laterite and then stabilizing it with cement, so it will withstand the weather,” he explained.

Minister Patterson explained that there are some problem areas in the Linden to Mabura road, and “that’s where we will be concentrating our efforts.” More than $60M have been allocated for that section of the road, which leads to Lethem. The 250-mile Linden to Lethem road has, over the years, been known to become impassable during the rainy season

WE WORK EVERYDAY
Carly’s Bus Service has 26 small minibuses and two 30-seater buses traversing the route on a rotational system. “We work every day,” the driver stated.

Passengers are currently charged $10,000 one way to Lethem, or to Georgetown from Lethem. If it is a return trip, passengers are charged $18,000. Over the years, the Bus Service has charged $8000, $12,000 and $10,000 to transport passengers.

“We started at $8000 years ago…maybe in 2002; it went up to $12,000, now it has dropped to $10,000. Even at $12,000, when the road gets real bad, it is hard to maintain your bus. Every trip you make you have to do something on the bus; something or the other goes wrong… You have to spend money; and there are some trips, when you come back, you have to take the money from your pockets to spend on the bus to make it road worthy,” Parker added.

While the owners of Carly’s Bus Service would like to increase the fares passengers pay, it is not feasible. “It makes no sense…we have a competitor who is charging $8000…he operates at a cheaper price, but is unrealistic,” the driver noted. Carly’s Bus Service, he added,

takes the safety of all passengers seriously. “We can’t afford to charge $8000 and then the buses break down in the middle of the trail,” Parker said.

At that price it is impossible to adequately maintain the buses. Parker noted that over the years there have been many promises by the administration to pave the Linden to Lethem road, but nothing has materialised. He said drivers are hopeful that with the change of administration, “dreams become a reality and promises are fulfilled.”

THE ROAD IS BAD

Like Parker, another driver, Vivian Xavier, said: “All the drivers will tell you the same thing: The road is bad, particularly from Linden to Mabura…it gets worse when it rains.” He said. “We have been promised repeatedly, but what we need is the road to be fixed…it must be paved.”

Xavier, who resides in St. Ignatius, told Guyana Chronicle that government had fixed the access road that leads to the community of Rockstone. He said that stretch of road has not yet deteriorated, and whatever materials have been used to fix that road could be used for the Linden to Mabura road.

“If they had continued doing it with that kind of gravel…it won’t be as bad as it is now,” he said.

He noted that the use of loam does not help the situation, as, when it rains, “it becomes dangerous to use the road… If they can pave it, it would be better.”

Additionally, he noted that the road from Mabura to the Kurupukari Crossing needs to be expanded. “There are parts there that are very narrow, and it is dangerous… The place is filled with thorns and there are big trucks and buses traversing the road.”

Other drivers, who requested anonymity, echoed the concerns of both Parker and Xavier. They said government’s promises are not enough. “We want action!” they said.

Grace Veras, speaking on behalf of Carly’s Bus Service, told Guyana Chronicle that the owners of the Service are often faced with several complaints from drivers.

“Drivers complain a lot about the road,” she said, noting that it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain the vehicles, as the cost for spare parts increases.

“We would like to raise it [the fare] back up to $12,000, but we would be at a loss for passengers here, and it doesn’t make sense,” Veras added.

Fifty-nine-year-old Adam Nash, a retired teacher and former Deputy Regional Chairman of Region 9, has called on the APNU-AFC administration to fulfill its promise of paving the road. Nash, who travels at least once a month from Annai to Georgetown, bemoaned the situation. He said that, over the years, there have been efforts on the part of the then Ministry of Public Works, now Ministry of Public Infrastructure, to fix the road, but the materials used are of no use.

“I have been travelling and noticing the different parts of the road as they try to do something… The Mabura to Linden road, why is that part always this way? It was never paid the correct attention as it should.”

He said it is a possibility that the resources needed to rehabilitate that stretch of roadway were not readily available. “If anyone is sick…we transport people from the hospital by road only if their bodies can handle it…but it won’t be good for them, that rocking is terrible.”

Nash noted that the Linden to Soesdyke road is “fairly good”, and he questioned why the Linden to Mabura road has been neglected. “I though the government should have done similar for Linden to Mabura…it would have eased some of the problems…The contract given to some of these people was not properly examined by engineers.”

He said that those contracted to repair the road are using the wrong materials, and the road is consequently not durable. “The road needs gravel,” he remarked, noting that government will continue to spend more money on the road if they fail to pay attention to what is really required.