Dear Editor,

I must congratulate the Maritime Department which inspects passenger boats. On Tuesday, February 9, Mr Tennant was in Bartica and surprisingly he grounded a few boats, because some had no certificate of inspection and navigational equipment. I was pleased to see the interest the officers took in the safety of the travelling public of Bartica.

It is time too for Supenaam boats to have sheds and two engines for the safety of Essequibo passengers. The Bartica boats at the Parika end need a loading and unloading ramp; we are fed up with loading and unloading on the Parika Beach sand. The next move should be radio sets in these boats, in case any of them are in distress. Cell phones cannot get signals in the river, and there are long delays waiting for a boat to pass and assist.

We are still waiting on the Fire Chief to give us our fire engine and open a station here in Bartica, and for Transport and Harbours to give us another Tuesday steamer day.

GPL is still smoking out the residents on the southern side of the power station; a Bartician resident overseas came home and had to leave Guyana again because of the smoke and soot.

Yours faithfully,
Winston Miller Snr