The Story Within The Story…A new Demerara River bridge and our regulatory bodies

Aug 20, 2017 News

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By Leonard Gildarie

We have become, as a people, immune from systems not working. We fear complaining because it becomes pointless, and in many cases, the abuse we have to endure.

We are a simple people beaten into submission because of years of insensitive and unbelievably poor services, at especially at the level of the public service. Our policy makers are to be blamed.

Persons will tell you of once visiting the GPO building, Robb Street, and running into the security who appeared to have had a bad night at home.

The service upstairs was even poorer unless you passed a raise. Times have changed. New management and staffers have seen a new air. Birth certificates and death certificates issuances have become faster. We are improving.

But at hospitals, police stations, at the City Council and at the NDCs, we appear to be stuck in a time warp. The attitude, body language and plain disinterest tell of a disheartening situation that we as a people are faced with.

We have to do better. And fast. Last week, we spoke of the need for our NDCs and City Council to get serious.  We have our regulatory bodies introducing stringent application processes that sometimes take weeks and months to be approved.

After receiving the approvals, the applicant is virtually left alone.

For example, except maybe for the city, I don’t know of anyone who can tell you of the NDCs visiting new homes under construction to ensure that they are being built according to what was approved.

Yet we had to run behind them to get the Environmental Officers or Sanitary Inspector, to approve the applications.

We learnt of the female homeowner in Farm, East Bank Demerara, whose home collapsed dramatically recently, because of poor construction. She has little recourse now.

Daily, weekly, at Kaieteur News, we receive complaints of garbage dumping, a bar in the neighbourhood that was granted permission to hold late night sessions, and construction that should never have passed the test because of obvious glaring zoning issues.

How can a bar be plumb middle in a residential area where cars block the streets every weekend and smoke from the barbecue grills affect neighbours? Who gave permission?

We have a complaint from residents of Atlantic Gardens, East Coast Demerara, about a Trinidadian multi-national company which has set up shop, employing hundreds of persons.

Here is the problem. The generators and other equipment are next to the people’s bedrooms.

Several letters to and from, including to the President, have failed to solve some of the issues.

The company has attempted to build housing for the equipment to lessen the noise, to no avail, claims the residents.

Entities like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have to start working closely with the NDCs and city councils to tackle these problems.

I have said it before and will say it again. We have potentially millions of dollars to be collected in rates and taxes. If you dilly-dally in collecting them, there will be no monies to hire other staffers to do things like enforcement and monitoring.

A chicken and egg situation. A few persons are paying for the rest in the community to live virtually free. Yet we expect our NDCs and city councils to provide the services like garbage collection to be working smoothly.

On the other hand, our councils have to wake up and smell the coffee…they have a job to do…there can be no excuses for non-performance.

I read of the tragic death on Friday of a 12-year-old girl who was crushed after a home collapsed at LBI, East Coast Demerara. Her brother, 8, was injured. They were both spending the school holidays there.

We can only ask ourselves whether there was anything we could have done? Was the home unsafe? How long was it built? Who was the contractor? Was the construction approved by the local NDC?

In the hinterland, at Jawalla, Mazaruni, Region Seven, a woman was pinned to death after a freak storm on Friday.

Several homes were flattened and even the community centre in that area was badly damaged.

It could be that climate change is fully on us. It could be that our troubles are now starting.

I could not help but wonder who monitors construction in those outlying communities, some of them located in riverain areas that are remote.

I have railed against the absence of enforcement and monitoring for a long time now.

It makes no sense to go to the National Assembly, waste millions of dollars in public consultations and pass laws, when the enforcers have no teeth or become corrupt.

We have passed updated anti-money laundering laws. We have established the Broadcasting Authority, but one cannot help but believe that the bureaucracy has seeped its way into the operations of these entities and they are slow off the start.

I want to make one more observation.

Cricket is in Guyana. An entertainment-starved Guyana, those who can afford it, have been trekking to the Providence stadium hoping that the Amazon Warriors deliver.

I stood in front of Kaieteur News and saw the long traffic lines. It is a daily problem.

I left Kaieteur News about 10pm Thursday, only to encounter the traffic jam starting by the Demerara Harbour Bridge junction.

The government on Friday disclosed that construction is expected to start next year on a new bridge – between Houston, East Bank Demerara and Versailles, West Bank Demerara.

This is good news. This project has to remain a top priority for the administration. We lose millions daily because of the delays and wear and tear to our vehicles, as well as man time hours.

I pray for this country to be better.

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