–following miners, drivers’ calls for speedy intervention

THE roadway and bridges that link Bartica and several other Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) mining communities to Puruni will soon be repaired, as engineers have just completed an assessment of an area.

Minister of Public Infrastructure, Mr David Patterson told the Guyana Chronicle on Monday that a technical team was in the Region last week, where an assessment of the roadway and bridges was done with a view to having the identified deficiencies remedied.

“A team just came out of the area this week; they were doing an assessment so as to repair them; they came out on Thursday,” Patterson said, adding that works will begin soon.

Meanwhile, use of the roadway on Saturday proved almost impossible as heavy rainfall continues to batter the area. Trucks and four-wheel-drive vehicles were oftentimes stuck in deep, slush-filled holes, forcing drivers to negotiate what has now become a difficult terrain.
During a journey that should have lasted one hour and fifteen minutes, instead lasted about two hours, ten minutes, it was observed that many of the bridges were falling apart, and drivers were being forced to drive cautiously before their vehicles toppled into rivers and streams.

FROM BAD TO WORSE
“This situation is getting from bad to worse. I don’t know what it is going to take for the government to fix this road and these bridges; this is a disaster waiting to occur,” one driver, who requested anonymity, told the Guyana Chronicle.

The truck driver said that many of the bridges along the route have become rotten, maybe due to the bad weather, along with what he deemed to be the reckless use of the roadway and bridges.

“It would be nice to see the government taking action to fix this roadway, because miners have to use this road on a daily basis,” he said. “I really hope that the road is fixed soon, because any day now these roads could give away.”

Another driver said he believes the fundamental issue is the contractor being used to repair the roads and bridges. He explained that for years, Mekdeci Machinery & Construction Inc. has been awarded the contract for the repair and rehabilitation of bridges. But no sooner is the work done, than it’s back to square one.

Miners operating in the Takatu, MaraMara, Peters Mine, Old Granny, and Black Water areas told the Guyana Chronicle that the contract for the repair of the roadway and bridges need to be awarded to another company.

“I can’t understand how the government does award contracts to a company that clearly ain’t doing the job right,” one miner said, adding:
“If every time he got to build a road and it breaking down, then it is clear somebody else should be doing the job.
“I ain’t know, but that is a hazard! Any day y’all will deh in town and hear how some one ah we fall through a bridge, or we truck topple.”

While they acknowledge that it is because of the persistent and heavy rainfall that the roadways are almost impassable, the miners are all in agreement that it is the work being done by the contractor that is to be blamed for their present dilemma.

LIVES AT STAKE
“We keep talking about this thing, but nobody ain’t taking us serious; we ain’t trying fuh mek bad fuh the company, but this is a serious problem; lives are at stake here.”

Another issue being raised was the number of trucks filled to capacity with drums of fuel traversing the roadway.

One miner, known only as ‘Sal’, told the Guyana Chronicle that while he believes that the Ministry of Public Infrastructure needs to fix the roads and bridges speedily, some truck drivers need to take responsibility for the state of the road and bridges.

“Nuff of them does be travelling with serious load! Drums upon drums of fuel; and the road is not built for that! But even though drivers are to be blamed to some extent, the situation at Lion Mountain is one that should be addressed immediately,” ‘Sal’ said.

Miners also contend that the bad roadways and bridges cause serious damage to their vehicles, which are costly to repair given the current price of gold.

“The price for gold is low, and to find money steady, steady fuh fix truck ain’t easy,” one driver told the Guyana Chronicle.

Meanwhile, several miners have complained to Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ms Simona Broomes, who visited Puruni on Saturday, about the situation with road and bridges, and her response was that the Ministry of Public Infrastructure has been informed about it.

She, however, committed to following up on the matter when she returns to Georgetown. “It is something I will discuss with my colleague Minister, David Patterson, when I return to Georgetown. I intend to write him, and attach some photographs so he could see the magnitude of the problem,” Minister Broomes assured the concerned miners.
“These matters must be addressed with some level of urgency,” she added.