Residents of Mahaica are concerned about the quality of work which was carried out on Lima Dam, a major road in the community which is connected to several access roads.
The road, which covers a distance of approximately 1.5 miles, runs in a north–south direction through Jonestown and it connects the community to the main East Coast Highway and the old public road which passes through the community.
During a visit to the community last week the residents related that two Thursdays ago, workers attached to the Region Four Regional Democratic Council (RDC) commenced road repairs on the stretch of road. They said that repairs to the road, which is a main artery through the village, were last carried out in 1999.
One resident told Stabroek News that the road in question was ‘chipped‘ and ‘a one inch layer of stone’ was then placed on top of it, following which a small roller compacted the roadway. He said that the road in its current state does not have a road shoulder.
In addition to concerns about the quality of the work carried out, the residents were also concerned that the work only covered half of the full length. They said that a burial ground lies along the section of the road where work was not carried out, noting that on many occasions, relatives would experience difficulties accessing it. Some persons also expressed concern about the state of the burial ground which they noted, does not have a drainage system in place and as such, whenever it rains, water would accumulate within the site.
One resident told Stabroek News that while the community was grateful that work was actually carried out on the road, the type of work which was undertaken was below their expectations noting that whenever it rains the road is usually difficult to navigate. He said that many vehicles, including delivery vans carrying foodstuff and other goods to shops in the community use the road and according to the man, whenever the next rainy season commences the road’s condition would ‘definitely‘ deteriorate from its current state.
Earle Lambert, a resident in the area told Stabroek News that the residents had requested a copy of the Bill of Quantity (BOI) from the overseer of the Mahaica Neighbourhood Democratic Council, which he noted would give a scope of work which was carried out on the road as well as the sum of money which was expended on the project. According to Lambert, their request was one way of citizens keeping the authorities under scrutiny, noting that on many occasions, one would ‘hear that so much millions was spent on projects but the actual work would not appear to correspond with the sums of money expended‘.
Stabroek News attempted to obtain information from the Mahaica NDC, relative to the work which was undertaken on Lima Dam but such attempts were in vain.