|
East Bank Berbice residents who recently staged a series of protests to back their demands for urgent attention to be paid to the $25M road that runs through the East Bank Berbice corridor,Gordon Beckham Jersey, will soon have some relief according to Region Six Chairman, David Permaul Armogan.Mr. Armogan stated that work is expected to begin almost immediately,Cincinnati Reds Drew Storen Jersey, weather permitting. He said that $40M has been earmarked for the road.The residents had staged protest after protest and had,Taijuan Walker Jersey, even taken their protest action to the Parliament in Georgetown to get the attention of policy makers in their quest for a new road.Speaking a year ago at an Indian Arrival Day function at Highbury,Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Bud Norris Jersey, East Bank Berbice,Milwaukee Brewers Travis Shaw Jersey, President Donald Ramotar had promised residents that the road would be fixed this year.But at a recent forum the President angered residents when he spoke at the Berbice Chamber of Commerce and Development Association (BCCDA) awards ceremony,Minnesota Twins Ryan Vogelsong Jersey, and said that only remedial work will be done to the road this year. He had promised them the work will be done next year through an IDB loan the government was pursuing.That statement had angered residents who said that they cannot wait until next year. One resident said that they have been having promises for years and that the time has come for action. He stated that the issue is long,Atlanta Braves Matt Kemp Jersey, hard and bitter dating back decades. “Since this government in power over 20 years now, they have not done anything for us.” It’s a shame,St. Louis Cardinals Dexter Fowler Jersey, he said.They were upset that over $12.1B has been allocated in the budget for road projects this year. But no mention was made of any allocation for the East Bank Berbice road.A representative of the Ministry of Public Works had stated that the IBD loan is expected to be available by the end of the first quarter of next year.Regional Chairman David Armogan told the media that $20M will go towards repairing the road while the Ministry of Public Works will match that amount. The work will be undertaken by the Ministry of Public Works while a special team will be available to do continuous work on the road so that will be functional until next year when the IDB money becomes available.Residents had said that doing remedial works over and over is a waste of money to fix the road to have it last for nine months. A number of businesses are located on the East Bank of Berbice including Guysuco massive sugar cane cultivation,Drew Stubbs Jersey, three Oil companies, a cement factory and numerous sawmills. |
|