Latest update November 5th, 2024 1:00 AM
Another white elephant sits at Parfaite Harmonie Housing Scheme
White elephant Parfaite Harmonie Housing Scheme
Situated in Westminster, Parfaite Harmonie Housing Scheme, West Bank Demerara, is another ‘white elephant’ that the Government of Guyana in collaboration with the European Union had pledged millions of dollars to construct. It is one of the projects by the Ministry of Housing and Water.
In the community, there is a sign on a building that reads ‘Multi-Purpose Building’ but residents are claiming that to this date the facility has not served its purpose.
According to the sign, construction started on November 27, 2009 and was completed on April 30, 2010.
As it is, overgrown bushes surround the well painted building which is not fenced.
The precise sum of money that was allocated for this project is yet to be ascertained by this publication. Several attempts by Kaieteur News to elicit a comment from the Minister proved futile.
However, Kaieteur News understands that Keres Engineering undertook construction, a firm located at Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara.
Residents of the community have indicated that since the construction work on the building was completed, no one from the relevant authority had visited “We didn’t see no one from the Ministry come since the work finish. They just build it and gone,” a woman who requested to remained anonymous said.
Some of the residents added that they were made to believe that the building would have served as a facility where young people could have visited after school and indulged in “extra curriculum activities”.
“We really don’t understand what is going on, they should have elected someone in the community to look over the place…rather than leave it unattended.”
A woman, who is living in close proximity to the structure, said that young men in the surrounding communities are already vandalizing the building.
“Just last night some boys who were using a ladder, climb up and took off some lights and louvers from the windows.”
When this newspaper visited the building, there were evidences of vandalism. Several lights that are attached to the building were ripped out.
All that was left of them were the dangling wires from which they were fixed.
Another villager, Ram Persaud, added that when the project was completed four huge black water tanks were placed on a tall scaffolding at the back of the compound. Ram said that persons took even those away.
“These people are risking their lives to climb that high, high thing to see what they can thief…Is good because de Government have too much money to waste; them financing project wild west,” Ram noted.
The man said that some time back, the police were called in after persons reported that a man was in the building.
“When the police came that night they caught a boy at the top of a ladder which was braced to the structure.
“Meh wife and me was tekkin’ a drink bout 09:00 o clock that night when we see this boy climbing de building wid a ladder. We just tell he we calling de police and if he try coming down we gan chop he.”
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