…minibus drivers to consider reducing increased fares

RESIDENTS of the Region 10 communities of Kwakwani and Ituni are elated that repair works have begun on the Linden to Kwakwani roadway which will eliminate several issues that resulted from the road being in a deplorable state.

The road was always a major concern for these residents and more so drivers plying the route and that caused them to increase fares.
Region 10 Vice Chairman Elroy Adolph and who has responsibility for Kwakwani, said that he is extremely happy that the road is being done and the huge pot holes that caused the journey from Linden to Kwakwani to be a rather rough one are being filled and the entire road is being graded with loam. Adolph said that though the works are far from complete, the trip from Kwakwani to Linden took him about two and a half hours on Sunday evening. This is about one and a half hours less than what it took before the repair works commenced. The project is being executed by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and several contractors are on the ground trying to complete the work before the May/June rainy season commences. VC Adolph also said that he is happy that persons from Kwakwani have been employed by the contractors.

In an invited comment, Region 10 Member of Parliament Audwin Rutherford, who also has responsibility for Kwakwani, said on Monday that he and the residents are elated that the work is being done but want stricter monitoring. Rutherford alluded to several times in the past when repair works were started on the road and more monies had to be spent because of the lack of monitoring.

Rutherford described the repair works as timely and said that it will complement the drainage works that were done earlier this year. One of the major issues with the Kwakwani road was the water’s inability to drain off effectively after heavy rainfall. Now that this will be done, the road is expected to be last longer.

The MP is calling on drivers who will be on the road daily to play a role in its monitoring and give feedback to the relevant authorities, when they see unsatisfactory and substandard work being carried out by the contractors.
Meanwhile the VC said that once the repair works are completed, he intends to ask the drivers who would have upped their fares to reduce them since they promised to do so if the road was repaired.

One driver told this publication on Monday that the repair work is something he welcomes as the struggle was ‘very real’ driving on a road in the state it was. “The struggle was real sista and now things looking up I am happy, as for the dropping up the fare, I can’t really say about that myself, I have to speak to my other drivers them but I know we had promised to drop it,” the driver said.