Unscheduled bridge closure and a disgraceful discovery

Sep 06, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

I am angry. I am ashamed. I am disgusted and just plain sick at what passes for leadership decision-making and governance in this country. Incredibly, it all has to do with, is directly correlated to, Sunday’s unscheduled closure of the Demerara Harbour Bridge because of unforeseen developments. This is the sequence of events.

I had to be present on the West Coast Demerara, and not too distant from where His Excellency, President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, originally hails. I assure everyone that it had nothing to do with reconnaissance, espionage, or sabotage. There I was just around 11:30hrs returning to the Bridge, with the long lines of vehicles queuing up three abreast to cross. At close to 13:00hrs, updates came, and they dashed any flickering hopes about a quick reopening. So, we turned around and headed for the Vreed-en-Hoop Stelling to make the crossing via speedboat, or water taxi, which is what I think they are called these days.

It was a thickening crowd for a Sunday, but orderly and moving. There were a number of water taxis lined up, and it looked as though business was brisk, as I expected given the condition of the Bridge. We lined up, kept moving, and descended into a waiting boat/taxi. The descent on the Vreed-en-Hoop side was fair, though somewhat surprisingly ancient and crude, almost 19th century. I think it is an improvement from what I had used before, about a decade ago. The water taxis themselves are on the upside, comparatively speaking. There are lifejackets, complete enclosure, and a bit of space, all a step up since almost none of those three amenities were present before. But it was on the Georgetown side of the river that I got a shock, and it takes a lot to do so in Guyana.

At the Stabroek ‘Big’ Market Stelling, the destination point, I came across the unbelievable. Men were waiting on the Stelling right where the water taxis dock, to give a hand to those who need it (the weighed down, the elderly, women, and the frail) to get from the platform immediately off the docked water taxis onto the Stelling itself. There are these steep, I would say about 110% angled, steel rails for passengers to reach for, grab hold of, and pull or leverage themselves up a short flight of about 4-5 steps.

Editor, to put it extremely mildly, I was ashen-faced and astonished that this was/is how boat passengers embark and debark on the Georgetown/Stabroek side of their most likely daily travels for work, school, and so forth. I can only imagine the chaos and confusion and congestion at rush hour on a regular workday. I can only speculate, with some trepidation, the tricky state of the daily commute during wet weather, or when it is both wet and dark. I hope that my fellow Guyanese can now identify with my anger, disgust, embarrassment, and spirit, as stated in the first few short sentences at the beginning of this writing.

We are an oil country, or we are a sewer state. We are in the 21st century and poised to be the next Dubai. Or we are a classic Donkey Country, with you-know-what for Government and Governors. To make matters infinitely and excruciatingly worse, humiliatingly so, His Excellency President Ali hails from ‘across the river’ so this is his backyard and his people. This leader has to have more pride, more awareness, more interest in taking care of the basics for his people. If he can’t take care of what is happening at the Georgetown/Stabroek Stelling, then I submit that he is helpless to deliver much elsewhere. If he can’t be there for thousands of his own people, who use that facility day after day, then I lay before all that this man, this leader, this President is most ill-equipped to do anything constructive for this nation as a whole. And one more thing, after all the big speeches and massive episodes of self-congratulation over the big billions spent on infrastructure, he can’t find it in those spendings to spare GY$5M to 10M (with plenty allowance for teefin) to erect a simple, safe, and secure structure that literally provides more of a helping hand and solid footing to all our brothers and sisters who use that crossing facility daily.

Good Lord, if we can’t do this in this oil country, then what the hell can we do, Mr (Dr.) President? What can you do, Sir?

Sincerely,

GHK Lall