MINISTER of Public Infrastructure (MoPI), David Patterson and a team of officials from his ministry recently visited the mining community of Mahdia, in Region Eight, where extensive infrastructural work is being done.

During his visit to the community, Patterson, who was accompanied by a number of MoPI officials, including the Permanent Secretary Kenneth Jordan; Chief Roads and Bridges Officer, Ron Rahaman; and Chief Executive Officer of the Hinterland Electrification Company Inc. (HECI), Horace Williams, was able to examine first-hand the various aspects of infrastructural work completed by engineers.

Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, and two representatives of his ministry were also present last Friday and met with residents of the mining community.
According to the Department of Public Information (DPI), the MPI is currently executing six projects within the region. These are the construction of Mahdia Community Roads; the rehabilitation of roads and drains at the Potaro Main Access Road – Mahdia to Denham Bridge; rehabilitation of roads and drains in Mahdia; rehabilitation and construction of the Brian Sucre Junction to Mahdia; rehabilitation and construction of Eagle Mountain Foot/Stone Hill to Konawaruk Junction (Phase 1); and rehabilitation of Mile 78 to Cassandra Crossing. These projects are all scheduled to conclude within the coming weeks.
Minister Patterson has indicated that the focus will be turned to the rehabilitation of 10 kilometres of roadway between Cassandra Point and the Denham Bridge. This stretch of road is important, since it serves as a link between Bartica and Mahdia, and works on it could commence in 2019.

“It is our hope to bring greater relief, and so we will be doing another 500 metres of roadway in Region Eight this year,” he said.
Patterson stressed that while his ministry is keen on providing its help, the regional administration and the private sector also have roles to play in pushing for development within Region Eight.

Meanwhile, before conducting a community walkthrough, the ministers met with the board of the Mahdia Power & Light (MPL) and its members provided a progress report on the company’s performance for this year thus far, including its income, expenditure, and collection rates. The chairman of the board also highlighted some of the challenges being experienced by the company.

In response, Minister Patterson expressed concern over the collection rates, which typically peaked at 70 per cent. It was explained to the MoPI team that residents are often in arrears. Minister Patterson emphasised that the MPL is a business and must therefore act as such to improve its reliability and overall service to consumers.
“We cannot have a power company operating as a social service; you will always be in a severe deficit,” Minister Patterson said, adding:
“A company operating like this will run into serious problems.” He added that while the goal is not to be unnecessarily hard on residents, it was important to maintain a certain standard whereby the residents upheld their responsibilities.
Meanwhile, the ministers also visited the famous Denham Bridge. The bridge is a point of interest for both ministries due to its infrastructure, business, development, and tourism potential. (DPI)