Pres. Ali blows top over East Bank road chaos

Oct 13, 2025 News

– contractors, cops and consultants get stern final warning

(Kaieteur News) – After days of unbearable gridlock that left thousands of commuters seething, President Irfaan Ali on Sunday exploded in frustration over the “tremendous hardship” caused by the chaotic rehabilitation and expansion works along the East Bank Public Road.

His Excellency President Dr. Irfaan Ali met on Sunday with contractor, China Road & Bridge Corporation (CRBC); consultant, Sheladia Associates Inc.; engineers; and a traffic management team working on the rehabilitation and expansion of the East Bank Public Road

The visibly angry Head-of-State summoned an emergency meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of Public Works, the Guyana Police Force, the Coast Guard, the Chinese contractor China Road & Bridge Corporation (CRBC), and the U.S.-based consultant Sheladia Associates Inc., blasting them for what he called gross mismanagement and slackness. “It is clear to me that enough effort is not placed in the contract management and the workflow plan,” President Ali fumed according to a Department of Public Information release. “As a result, you are causing tremendous hardship on the people who are using this road.”

President Ali told the companies that his patience had run out, warning that he would no longer tolerate poor project management, delays, or indifference to public suffering. The President announced a series of tough new measures to restore order and speed up work. He directed that a daily work plan be shared with the traffic control team and ordered that “all areas opened overnight must be ready for use the next day.”

To crack down on reckless driving and lawlessness, President Ali instructed Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken to establish a permanent control base along the corridor, using containerised command posts and 24-hour drone surveillance to monitor traffic and identify violators. “All the trucks that are breaking the rules, all the trucks that are breaking the laws, forming three lanes and four lanes — you have to charge the drivers,” the President warned bluntly.

Mr. Ali also ordered the control room moved closer to the construction site and demanded a new work plan showing how additional machinery and manpower will be deployed immediately to accelerate progress. “I was there at one in the morning, two-thirty in the morning hardly anyone was working,” he said. “For this project to be completed and for less disruption to commuters, you have to put people in during the night, increase your machinery, and increase your workforce. I said this more than once.”

‘No More Excuses’

The Head-of-State made it clear that penalties will follow for anyone — contractors, consultants, or engineers who fail to deliver. He also announced the creation of an early warning system using drones to detect congestion before it spirals out of control. “There must be coordination, teamwork, and precision in getting this work done,” Ali stressed.

In a dramatic twist, the President even ordered the Coast Guard and the Police Marine Unit to stand ready to ferry passengers to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport if traffic gridlock worsens. “The boats will be in place. We have the boats, so we can help people get to the airport,” Ali said. “That is why I’ve asked the Coast Guard, Colonel Howell, the Commissioner, and the marine section of the police all to be involved.” Ali declared that this would be his final warning to all parties involved, signalling a zero-tolerance approach to mismanagement and indiscipline on one of the nation’s most vital arteries. The government is pushing to complete the East Bank expansion swiftly as part of its wider infrastructure drive launched in 2020. But for now, Guyanese stuck in the punishing traffic may find little comfort — except that the President himself seems to have lost his patience, too.

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China Road & Bridge Corporation, East Bank, Irfaan Ali, road chaos

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