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Former journalist pursues dream of using technology to make Guyana better
By Shervin Belgrave
A shot of one of the cameras set up at an overpass
Kaieteur News – The love and passion for technology has driven a former journalist, Leonard Gildarie, to find ways, not only to gain some cash, but also to lend a hand to the development of his country by installing some state of the art traffic cameras along Guyana’s busiest highway, the East Bank Demerara corridor.
Former journalist, Leonard Gildarie takes a selfie as his crew sets up the traffic cams in the background.
As the Managing Director of a new company called Pixels-Guyana Inc., Gildarie recently installed two cameras at the overpasses located at Houston and Peters Hall in the vicinity of the Demerara Harbour Bridge to monitor traffic.
Speaking with Kaieteur News in a recent interview, the former journalist turned businessman said that the cameras are equipped with internet and will give live feed of the traffic situation along the highway.
The live feed will be fed to his company’s Facebook page allowing motorists to choose the most suitable time for them to use the highway.
Being a driver himself, Gildarie related that he has suffered like many to endure the traffic woes along the East Bank.
An estimated 100,000 vehicles traverse the highway on weekdays and many complain of being stuck in traffic jams and slow moving traffic for hours.
Controlling the traffic on the East Bank has been a challenge for the government and it has been investing heavily to build new highways just to ease the congestion.
While the government is doing its part to remedy the situation, Gildarie believes that he too can play a part in making the lives of his fellow countrymen much easier with his traffic cam technology.
Leonard Gildarie posing for a photo after an interview with reporters at the Houston overpass
“This service is free of cost to the public,” said Gildarie as he urged drivers to make full use of it to plan ahead before becoming stuck in traffic and missing appointments.
Asked what drove him to invest thousands of US dollars in such a project, Gildarie said it is because of his love and passion for technology.
“I’ve always been somewhat a kind of a technology freak; I always like to follow technology, whether it’s the Amazon Fire Stick and what are the capabilities that could happen, I like to diddle with cameras and drones and things like that.”
Gildarie worked as a journalist for some 20 years and, according him, he enjoyed breaking “big stories” and reporting on national issues for the betterment of his country.
Throughout his journey, however, his passion for technology, especially playing around with drones and “fancy cameras”, grew stronger.
One of his colleagues, who worked with him while he was a journalist, recalled seeing him play around with some gadgets in the office. He would often add something extra to his work.
He would say, “The best photos and angles shot tell a story and draw people’s attention. As technology evolves, we have to master it in order to be effective.”
The former colleagues remembered Gildarie teaching himself to master drones so that he can obtain high quality videos and overhead shots for news stories.
After reporting the news for two decades, Gildarie decided to call it a day. But instead of relaxing at home or enjoying vacations, he decided to start a business.
A screengrab taken from a video posted to Pixels Guyana Inc. Facebook page of the live feed from the traffic cams.
For Gildarie, the business he wants to build is not only to gain him some profits but to improve the lives of fellow Guyanese and assist in modernising his homeland.
Investing in Pixels-Guyana Inc., according to Gildarie, was in fact an investment in his first ‘dream project’, which saw him setting up the traffic cameras at strategic points along the often congested East Bank Demerara highway.
With approval from the relevant authorities for the venture, he decided to make use of the overhead passes erected along the highway to set up his cameras.
For one year, Gildarie said that he worked tirelessly to complete his first project and on February 17, 2022, he made an announcement on his Facebook page –“Dream Project almost there”.
In April, the first dream project was completed and his traffic cameras were launched. But Gildarie wants to do more.
In fact, he is planning now to install some big screens at the overpasses.
These screens, according to Gildarie, will “light up the East Bank.” He aims to use these screens not only for advertisement purposes but to display trending issues in the country, live news updates and positive messages reminding citizens to obey the law, stop domestic abuse and to unite for the greater good of Guyana.
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