A fight which erupted among speedboat owners in Suriname on Tuesday afternoon forced another closure of the backtrack Corentyne crossing, a day after it was reopened and scores of passengers were again left stranded.
The crossing which facilitates mostly small-scale traders was first closed last Wednesday because of a dispute and “bitter competition” among the boat owners of the Dutch-speaking country. It reopened on Monday.
Stabroek News (SN) learnt that passengers who flocked the three landings yesterday morning to cross were disappointed when they were told that they would not be able to do so.
Boat owner, Fezal Mursaline of Aunty Boat Landing said seven busloads of passengers who travelled from as far as Essequibo were waiting to cross around 5:30 am when he got a call from boat operators in Suriname that the service was again closed.
He said after waiting a while passengers in three of the buses left to stay with relatives on the Corentyne, while others waited a few hours at the landing to see what decision Suriname would take on the issue.
Up to 4:30 pm yesterday when this newspaper contacted Mursaline and Roy Ramdass of another landing, passengers were still waiting. But the owners said they heard that no decision has been taken as to when the service would resume.
Mursaline related that an elderly woman who was waiting to cross yesterday had her passport at hand but she preferred to wait for a few days to see if the speedboat service would resume instead of travelling via the ferry.
Ramdass said some of his passengers were on their way home to Cayenne, French Guiana and Suriname and even if he was willing to facilitate them he could not as the Dutch police were patrolling the water.
Mursaline said this disruption of the service would seriously affect the trade between the two countries. Apart from people importing items from Suriname, he said a lot of local products were being exported to that country through this route.
Closing it, he said would result in loss of revenue for both countries. According to Mursaline, a customs officer is present at the three landings to inspect goods that are being imported and the necessary duties are charged.
Some of the traders were already counting their losses and told SN that their businesses were affected by the shutdown. After learning that the service had resumed on Monday some traders hustled to Suriname to make purchases while others were planning to go yesterday.
This newspaper understands that the conflict among the boat owners has reached the level of the Suriname Prime Minister who would decide on the fate of the semi-legal operations with Guyana.
Nickerie District Commis-sioner Bhagwatpersad Shankar was quoted in the Suriname daily, de Ware Tijd (dWT) as saying that the decision to close the route was made because of “the continuing chaos, confusion and anarchy” associated with it, as well as because bitter competition between boat operators was threatening to escalate.
Shankar had ordered the police and the army to close the crossing and keep an eye on any illegal movements. DWT has reported that boat operators and taxi-drivers had protested against the closure, claiming significant loss of income, but Shankar had insisted that as soon as the operators settled their disagreements they could report to the authorities who would then decide whether and when they could offer the service again.
This appeared to be so, causing the service to be back in operation less than one week later. Speedboat owners [and passengers] are dissatisfied at the attitude of the operators in Suriname. They said those persons involved in the conflict should be disciplined and that it is not fair for everyone to suffer as a result of their actions.
DWT pointed to bickering between 4 “old” boat owners and the two “new” ones. Boat owner Dewanand Baidjoe told dWt, the old boat owners have invested for years and they will not allow the two newcomers to also operate on this route.
In an editorial yesterday, dWT said “It is now up to the government to definitely solve this problem. The since long promised regulation of the backtrack route by the Ministry of Justice and police should now become a fact.”