WORK on a $173M magistrate’s court which will benefit residents of Bartica and surrounding villages is expected to be completed by November of this year.
Regional Chairman Gordon Bradford told the Guyana Chronicle that the house of justice represents major progress for the region.

“Having our own court, we will be afforded the opportunity to have court every day and not have persons travelling up and down to get their matters heard. We will no longer have to travel out of our region for justice; persons wouldn’t have to go till to Essequibo to uplift bail money; all of that will be done right here and that is a great boost for the community,” Bradford said.

Time and money are the essence of life, he said, and noted that ready access to a court in Bartica will be saving the residents, both time and money.

Bradford also believes that persons charged by police will be on neutral ground and have fairness in their trials, since their cases would not be heard at the police station.
The L-shaped complex is expected to house a magistrate’s court, magistrate chambers, lawyers’ rooms, court registry, offices and living quarters.

The Guyana Chronicle, on a visit to the site, observed that progress was being made on the project.

A site supervisor said currently 13 workers from M&P Investments are working on the project, but as work progresses, more workers will be employed.
The supervisor also said that the closure of the sandpit in the municipality has slowed down the pace of the project.

“The remaining sand we have left on the site is being kept for block work and we are waiting for the sandpit to open back to continue…. If it doesn’t open up soon, we would have to bring sand from Georgetown and this might cause the project to be completed a little later than November,” the supervisor said.

He noted that the region is committed to seeing the project to completion.
The next big project in Bartica is the construction of a passport and immigration office.