– Region Four Officer sent on leave
Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, Robeson Benn has sent a senior Regional Officer in Region Four on leave and has ordered an investigation into the misuse of Government’s road works funds, after the access bridge at Bee Hive on the East Coast of Demerara was found to be fragile and useless.

The Bee Hive Bridge under investigation by the Ministry of Public Works

According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) release, Minister Benn, accompanied by Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Kellawan Lall, upon receiving several complaints of residents’ inaccessibility to the recently constructed $1.1M bridge, asked that an examination be done on the bridge by the Ministry’s Chief Engineer.

The chief engineer who made it clear that the structure was not built to specifications, also reported that the bridge is not attached to the beams and instead of four inch screws, the contractor substituted three inch screws.

The bridge will soon be reconstructed by the Chief Engineer who has redesigned it.

Minister of Local Government, Kellawan Lall and Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn hearing the complaints of residents of Bee Hive about the poor works done on the bridge

According to Minister Lall, the infrastructure is a regional project and that the Regional Executive Officer (REO) should have monitored the progress of construction, and an inspection done before the contractor was paid.

This, the Minister added, was not the case.

Minister Benn is therefore calling on the relevant authorities to indicate to residents that at present the bridge can only accommodate a weight of seven tonnes, which is the weight of an empty truck.

He indicated that the action taken should be a warning to all other officers who do not comply with government’s procedures. (GINA)