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No electricity, poor roads, drainage at Kilcoy/Chesney
For many, especially young couples, owning their home is at the top of their bucket list
One of the poor roads that residents have to also contend with.
but having the basic necessities such as light, water and proper roads may not necessarily come with the package of being a home owner in a fresh and developing housing scheme.
Residents from the Kilcoy/Chesney Housing Scheme, Corentyne, Berbice are at their wits end after being promised by the present administration that they would have received electricity last year.
To date there are no utility poles in sight. The roads are also in a deplorable state, the drains are clogged to the point of leaving water stagnant for days after the monsoon.
This publication ventured into the housing scheme and spoke with several persons who have been occupying their homes for quite some time now. The frustrated residents complained that they have been living without electricity in the scheme and are growing weary of the promises being made.
Elisha Singh, a Primary school teacher, told Kaieteur News that it is difficult for her. “it’s really hard because for me I am a school teacher and I would normally have school work to do when I am home in the nights. My children can’t even watch their favourite shows on the television as they would like to. When I want to cook I can’t store the food in the fridge because there is no electricity to power it. I would normally take things to the children grandmother’s house to store in the fridge”.
A shopkeeper, Lorraine, who is one badly affected by the absence of electricity, bad roads and poor drainage.
Another resident, 68-year-old Edwin Seepersaud, said that he has a sick wife with a heart condition. She depends solely on him since they live alone. He said that in the nights when he has to get up to tend to his sickly wife he is only guided by the light of a kerosene lamp. “it hard because every day me got to full lamp and kerosene na cheap. Me glad fuh get current but me still ah wait like everybody else”.
Lorraine Jeffrey, one of the very few shop owners in the housing scheme lamented the cost she has incurred over time living at her home. “I have a generator but if you put it on during the day in the nights when you want to watch some television you gotta buy gas. I does gotta put on the generator for like an hour and then cut off to cold dem tings to sell, like drinks and so.
“it’s very difficult; we just praying and watching everyday to see if a post gon put up but nothing, over a year I am living here.”
One man, Ganpat, argued that nothing is being done to make their lives comfortable. “Dem man dis seh how long since last year that we gon get electricity. We ain’t seeing dem do nothing.
“This scheme get more than 100 houses and still we living like this. Suh come you see I ain’t move in yet. Plus the drainage. When rain fall this place does full up with water and it does leff stagnant for two-three days. The roads worse”
A new housing scheme but no electricity.
A resident and hire car driver, Harry Chand, who traverses the road on a daily basis, said, “The road when the rain fall is pure mud; you can’t drive properly.” He too complained about the lack of electricity. According to him, all his electrical appliances are not in use. “I does use battery light”.
There were many others willing to speak. The situation has left persons wondering, when? The housing scheme is developing at a fast rate with more and more persons completing construction of their homes and making the decision not to move in.
While it is a security risk to leave their homes unoccupied many dubbed it as a “stressful situation. “But we have no choice”.
Some time in June, last year, a release issued by GINA stated that 16 housing schemes across five regions were expected to receive electricity through the CH&PA. Minister Valerie Patterson had told the media that electricity will be provided in July of last year with over $500 M spent on the intervention. However, nothing has been done since.
Residents are calling on the relevant authorities to look into their situation with a sense of urgency so that they can live comfortably in the homes they spent millions of dollars to construct.
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