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What message does a potential investor receive when held in stopped traffic from Timehri to Georgetown with no explanation and no apology?
Dear Editor,
President Mohamed Irfaan Ali has been sharply critical of foreign companies wanting to sell into Guyana but not invest in this country; see for example https://kaieteurnewsonline.com/2026/06/22/no-investment-no-access-to-guyanas-market-pres-ali-tells-foreign-investors/. Perhaps the President would have a better understanding of investor reticence if he endured the chaotic failure of the Ministry of Public Works and the Guyana Police Force to have any functional system of traffic management along the East Bank Demerara (EBD) public road.
The almost total absence of conventional town planning and scheduling of road construction and maintenance in our country is exemplified by the daily nightmare of transit along the EBD road. Yes, the reconstruction is impeded by houses and shops pressing close to the original carriageway, and by the absence of parallel relief roads – but those issues are not peculiar to Guyana.
In most countries, such road building and rebuilding is done in sections, each equivalent in length to 3-5 minutes of normal travel time, and each section controlled by interlinked stop/go lights or trained flaggers with linked phones. Thus, stopped time is kept short enough to prevent the building of driver anxiety and anger.
But along the EBD road? Coming back to Georgetown on Friday June 26 at 1800 hours we reached a long line of stalled traffic near Friendship Village. During the more than 30 minutes of waiting at the first stop, 51 vehicles streamed past on the wrong side of the road to bore in further along the queue. Twenty-two of those were minibuses with scheduled route numbers. When the line of patiently stopped vehicles finally began to move, we passed just three pairs of stop/go lights, but we saw no accident or obstruction to explain the delay. We saw not a single GPF police officer or other traffic controller during that time. A journey to Georgetown from Friendship took 2.5 hours by car.
Mr. President of One Guyana, I recommend that you experience yourself what ordinary citizens have to endure every day because of the shambolic mis-management of the roads and the absence of the police. Step out of your limousine and ride in an ordinary car or minibus. Learn what life is really like in One Guyana. And then think about long-suffering commuters, and the image received by potential investors.
Your truly,
Janette Bulkan
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