Incomplete Onderneeming health post becomes haven for goats, other stray animals

Sep 12, 2019 News

Two years after construction work commenced on the Essequibo Coast Onderneeming health post, the structure remains incomplete. In fact this publication has even found evidence to suggest that it has become a haven for goats and other stray animals.

An external view of the Onderneeming Health Post

Based on the reports, the construction of the health post to the tune of $13M was being done as part of the region’s capital works in 2016. The contract was reportedly awarded in January, 2017 to the contractor (Boodraj) who halted works on the structure since only $2M was reportedly paid over to date.
The Onderneeming Community is a rapidly developing community with an increasing population. The completion of the health post was expected to play a major role in boosting health care delivery in the area, even as the Ministry of Public Health seeks to promote the primary health care concept. During multiple community meetings, there have been repeated calls by residents for the health post to be completed.

Goat droppings strewed across the floor of the Health Post

Earlier this year, Regional Executive Officer, Denis Jaikaran, promised that the partially completed building will be completed by this year. Jaikaran told this publication last February too that, “based on the reports received myself and a team visited the area, we looked at the situation and we are satisfied to date that this project is 80 to 90 percent completed. By the first half of the year we (are) going to conclude arrangements for the other works to be completed.”
Several months later, residents are still complaining that nothing further was done on the building.
During a recent government outreach earlier this year, there was also a promise that the health post will be completed by the end of July. Residents, as a result, have continued to voice their disappointment that the health post has not been completed within the time frame given.
“Is like a year and over and since the goats living inside (the health post)… On the 29th of May when it had the big outreach on the Essequibo Coast, we were promised that it will be opened to the community by July month end, on to now no one never come back and the health post is the same way, half finish; plus not only that, but people breaking it all ready. It’s really terrible,” one resident lamented recently.

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