Minister fixes road destroyed by resident

Jan 05, 2020 News

Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI), Jaipaul Sharma, has said that he is very aware that Guyana is losing significant revenue by continuously repairing damaged roads.

The Ogle Airport Road damaged by trucks transporting sand and materials to build Exxon’s Headquarters

As highlighted by many, heavy-duty vehicles and “overloaded big trucks” are the main contributors to the destruction of a number of major roadways and small streets.
The Minister himself has witnessed firsthand, the damage these vehicles can do.
But what makes matters worst is the reality that the owners and users of these vehicles seems to be “unbothered” about the strain this puts on taxpayer’s dollars.
Sharma, a resident of Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD), said that he lives in a street where a resident would frequently “bring in” 20 and 40-foot containers.
The resident’s activity caused the street to become filled with holes. He also destroyed the Minister’s “parapet”.
Minister Sharma then decided to repair his “parapet” and fill the holes that are in front of his residence, with his own resources.
Many of the neighbours became annoyed with him, because they were of the opinion that the Minister was “selfish” in repairing only the damaged section in front of his house.
But little do they know that such a project would cost millions of dollars and if undertaken by the government, would have to be funded by taxpayers.
This problem, said Sharma, has forced his government to move ahead with its plans to implement scales at major entrances to Georgetown. Some of these main entrances chosen are Berbice, Parika and Linden.
This initiative is catered for in the budget submission for 2020 and is said to be one that will “safeguard” the main public roads across the country.
The scales will determine if these heavy-duty vehicles are eligible to use the roads.
If overloaded or carrying extra tons then access will be denied.
However, MPI has no jurisdiction over the roads that belong to the various communities. It plans to have a discussion about the issue with the Ministry of Communities.
The discussion will seek to establish bylaws, which will be enforced to “safeguard” the communities’ roads.
Some commentators are of the view that such an initiative can slow down production, affecting not only its users but the economy.
They have recommended that a fee can be paid by companies that own and use these heavy-duty vehicles to access Guyana’s roads.