The Story within the Story…The little things that bother me

Oct 30, 2016 News

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By Leonard Gildarie
I was driving home Friday evening when I got the call. A terrible smash-up at Moblissa on the Soesdyke/

Linden Highway.
While at the time of writing, two persons were confirmed dead, I am hearing another person from the minibus from Mahdia, Region Eight, has since passed away, making the death count three.
It aches my heart when I see lives snuffed out because of something that can be avoided.
From initial reports, the driver of the minibus, Peter Alleyne, known as ‘Brother Peter’, from Mahdia, came suddenly on a truck that was parked in the corner that had logs protruding from the back. From reports, the logs had no reflectors and Brother Peter lost control after trying to avoid slamming into the logs. The bus apparently spun out of control into a nearby ravine.
There is another sad angle to this story. The wife of Brother Peter, Sister Bridget (Alleyne), would leave her children and accompany her husband on the trips to the city from Mahdia backdam. She was a well known person and the incident has left the mining community in deep shock.
If it is indeed true that the logs had no reflectors, then somebody has to be charged.
For too long, too often, we do things that endanger the lives of our people. For too long, we encourage or keep silent despite knowing that we are fostering a monster.
Today, our society reeks of lawlessness because nobody wants to bell the cat. We stay quiet and place the responsibility on our neighbours.
Every day I drive the East Bank Demerara road and every day I wonder whether we are a nation of lawless people.
I live in Diamond and there is one access road to what is the most developed new housing scheme in the country.
On weekdays, up to around 9:30am, the backup of traffic is a major headache from that lone access road. If you happen to be in the line, it is not unusual to see streams of minibuses, taxis and other vehicles overtaking to get in front. I am sure that the minibuses have passengers.
There will of course be the arguments that the passengers want to reach to work or wherever they are going on time.
It is a horrifying sight to see vehicles approaching the oncoming traffic at breakneck speeds then one suddenly pulls to the corner to allow the other to pass.
As citizens of this country, we all have a voice. Our voices are powerful. I can’t imagine that you are paying money to a conductor and the driver decides your fate. Something wrong with this picture?
I drive further along the East Bank and there are two traffic cops standing under the shade of a tree next to DSL, waiting like hawks on speeding motorists – there was none on the Diamond access road.
I hope you are beginning to catch my drift.
These are the little things that drivers and passengers ponder on as they sit in the congestion.
On Friday evening, there was a long backup of traffic to the Demerara Harbour Bridge, starting at Eccles.
It came as no surprise to see the West Bank-bound minibuses overtaking and undertaking on the other lane to bypass the line. The bottleneck at the harbour bridge junction was a clear indication that we have no idea what we are doing when it comes to traffic management.
The situation is a growing problem. We have a large number of police officers who owns minibuses and taxis. Guess who does not get a ticket that often?
I love being stopped by traffic cops. It means that they are doing their work. It is when they want to take you to the police station for a ticket offence or refuse to heed the Commissioner’s advice – that no unauthorized road block would be tolerated – that the trouble will start.
I do intend to test the system.
As Nigel Hughes would say…better must come.
Last week, I saw a photo of a line of timekeepers doing their thing at the National Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara.
We have reportedly spent over $600M to build an Olympic-size pool and facilities, yet we have people manually checking time? Who were the people that designed the project? Surely, this was a joke?
The internet is a fascinating place. Google and Amazon are two big names.
On Google, you can literally find information on anything you want.
Amazon is where you can buy online virtually anything you want too.
We recently watched in disbelief as US phenom, Michael Phelps, destroyed his critics and competitors in Rio, Brazil.
I watched as he made his laps and wondered how the world knew the exact time. To the naked eye the races were close.
At the end of the pool, there are touch pads linked to the timers. It is simple technology.
After spending $600M for a pool, we could have done much better. How much does it cost for a few touch pads and an electronic timing system? I don’t know.
The point is, when you are embarking on a project, you have it get it right.
I am paying close attention to the four-lane extension of the East Bank Demerara road.
The new administration has inherited it and while it is near completion, there are signs of deterioration.
I am hoping that the engineers of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and the consultants are paying close attention, because we are.
Last week, I spoke about our courts being abused.
The Commissioner of Police (acting), David Ramnarine, has expressed alarm at what appears to be the wanton abuse of bail granting by the High Courts.
We place persons accused of being a serial robber on the roads after hard work by investigators to place them before the courts. We are creating a monster.
The implications are staggering. Not least among them is apparent disrespect shown by judges to the citizenry. There is a responsibility that comes with that granting of bail.
The High Court has to demand background checks. I am hoping we don’t see the normal knee-jerk situation where our judiciary would respond asking for evidence of the abuse.
I say to you to prove that it is not so.

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