Kwakwani accident accentuate political discrimination - PNCR

Kwakwani accident accentuate political discrimination – PNCR

Jul 04, 2010 News

The People’s National Congress Reform whilst extending condolences to those killed and injured in the recent accident in Kwakwani has used the occasion to once again point out what they call the neglect of the mining community.

Party Chief Whip Lance Carberry, at the party’s most recent press briefing, said that the accident has been accentuated because of the wanton neglect of the Bauxite communities by the PPP/C Administration over the last 18 years.

“This consistent pattern of the disproportionate allocation of resources for development leads to no other conclusion than that the PPP/C is guilty of both political and racial discrimination.”

He explained that because of the deplorable state of the road, what should have been a 90-minute journey became one of more than five hours.

Carberry was referring to the rescue efforts as it relates to ferrying the injured victims to the hospital.

He said that instead of allocating the required resources to build an all-weather road, millions are spent annually to grade a sandy strip close to the rainy season to guarantee that there is a need for similar work in the following year.

“Such weird planning in not accidental…The PPP has practised this kind of discriminatory policy in all areas of infrastructural development in Region Ten over the past years.”

He said that had there been a proper, “or at least, a reasonably maintained road between Linden and Kwakwani, the victims of the recent accident would have been able to receive quality health care at Linden shortly thereafter.”

Regrettably, according to Carberry it required the intervention of the Regional Chairman, Mortimer Mingo, to appeal to the “powers-that-be” in Georgetown, before a rescue effort could have been mounted by aircraft from Georgetown.

He pointed out also that the aircraft which had their original destination as the Linden airstrip to speedily ferry the injured to the Linden Hospital had to be diverted to Georgetown because of the deplorable state of the Linden Airstrip.

“Eventually, only one aircraft was able to land and as a result the rescue effort was stymied by the victims having to wait until the next day to be ferried to better health facilities.”

This disgraceful state of affairs, which according to Carberry, resulted in the loss of lives, must be remembered as the latest example of the PPP political and racial discrimination and as such activities for their (PPP/C) removal must be intensified.

One Wednesday evening last, a minibus transporting workers of the Aroaima Bauxite Mining Facility and a pickup transporting workers from the Kuruduni logging operations collided, killing two and injuring some 15 who had to be flown to the city for medical treatment.