My description of poor construction on Agriculture Road stands

Aug 11, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
I wish to reply to a letter written by Mr.Anthony A.Haynes published in the Kaieteur News on August 4th 2017 under the caption; ‘’The Reverend’s description of the execution of road works on Agriculture Road is incorrect’’ this letter was also published in the other newspapers as a reply to my previous letter published in Kaieteur News on July 23,2017.
In Mr Haynes’ reply to me, he answered some questions I raised in my letter pertaining to the road contract and the cost of the road. He went on to say that my letter is a ‘’missive’’ typical of the vocabulary of these guys who believe they are the Gods of the day. I want Mr.Haynes to know that I am a man of impeccable character and integrity and I have written about this road from the past PPP Administration to this current Administration. I will never write something and publish it in the press that is inaccurate. In this reply I wish to refute his claims that my letter previously was ‘’incorrect’’.
Mr. Haynes wrote the following: ‘’The Ministry of Public Infrastructure under its Miscellaneous Roads Programme, 2017. The Contractor is K.P. Thomas and Sons Incorporated, the Project Engineer is Anthony A. Haynes, the contract sum is $59,031,149 and the site extends a distance of approximately 1230m. Carriageway works include the upgrading of the road structure with mixed loam and/or crusher run and sealing using asphaltic concrete. The contract is scheduled to end in September of 2017.Rev. Gideon Cecil purports to have excellent knowledge in road construction and would have been on the site with the current contractor for the duration of the contract, which commenced on July 6, 2017.”
First, I want this contractor to know that I live in Agriculture Road and I traverse this road more than 6 times a day and I am not blind to notice the poor and deplorable work he has done. If he claimed that this sloppy work he has done is being undertaken by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure under its Miscellaneous Roads Programme, 2017, then he is obviously giving this Ministry of Public Infrastructure a bad name and I am calling on Minister Patterson, Joe Harmon, and the Minister of Agriculture to come into Agriculture Road to evaluate this deplorable work.
Mr. Haynes put the cost at $59,031,149; that is more than ridiculous. What he has done from the beginning of Agriculture Road to Block CC, he claimed to be 1230 metres approximately 0.75 miles road works? TO PATCH HOLES, throw in some crush and run and just roll it over to the massive total of $59,031,149. From what I know about costs for construction and what I have investigated from engineers of very high caliber this deplorable job executed by this contractor is K.P. Thomas and Sons Incorporated. The Project Engineer is Anthony A. Haynes. It cannot cost 4 million Guyana dollars for such materials used.
So Mr. Editor I ask this contractor what his labour costs are for this job. He said it is scheduled to end in September of 2017 that has already ended since all his heavy duty road equipment has been removed and this work is stopped over a week now. From the inception, when they started this work they did not work two weeks consecutively; they just come out late laze around and work like two hours daily and this man has this audacity to say I am lying about this work that is stopped currently which he claims will last until next month end.
My question is where he is now and why did he stop the work. I am calling on the current administration to conduct an audit of the expenditures cost of this road and the fees charged by the contractor is K.P. Thomas and Sons Incorporated, the Project Engineer is Anthony A. Haynes, to execute such deplorable work.
When this work commenced, we were elated that we would get a road like the road constructed through Market Street. It’s unfortunate the quality of this road is already damaged by the very heavy duty vehicles coming in here like 40 foot containers trucks, sand trucks, huge trucks transporting Hymacs to the back dam etc etc. The following pictures of this contractor miserable job I have attached here I would like you to print as proof of what I have written. I would like to invite any media house including channel 67, 65,28,11,6,9 to contact me through this news papers to come and carry this road project on National Television. I invite any minister of government to come and investigate if just patching and filling holes can cost an exorbitant $59,031,149. That is not a new road this contractor is constructing.
Rev.Gideon Cecil

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