Dear Editor,
For years the population of Leguan has suffered from the arbitrariness of the Transport & Harbours Department (T&HD). Leguan seems so to be no longer on the schedule of the T&HD. Sunday is the busiest day in the week. More than a hundred people travel on this day from Leguan to Parika for shopping and other business. On their return to the Parika Stelling they hear that the next available steamer is the Bartica boat, and this steamer arrives in Parika around 11 hours and departs for Leguan between 12 hours and 15 hours (!) although the official departure time for the steamer to Leguan is 10 hours and not a minute later.
The new Leguan Stelling was officially opened on September 8, 2005. President Jagdeo and the Minister of Public Works Anthony Xavier informed the citizens of Leguan at the time that the new stelling would be very good for the development of the island and we would get our ‘own’ steamer.
Nearly five years have passed, and nothing has happened, only empty promises. How can a new stelling be good for the development of the island when the ferry service is in a horrible state. The schedule says there is a twice daily steamer from/to Leguan (6 hours and 15 hours from Leguan to Parika, and 10 hours and 16 hours from Parika to Leguan). The fact is that the ferry service is very unpunctual.
The excuses of the clerks at the Parika stelling are an affront to the ears of the people of Leguan. Why are two runs on Friday and Sunday to Adventure, Essequibo Coast, more important than serving Leguan at a scheduled time? One solution would be to change the departure time in Bartica from 6 hours to 3 hours. A good captain should know the Essequibo River not only in the daytime but also at night. This steamer could then run from Parika to Leguan at 10 hours on the same day. The steamers of T&HD are government owned, and that means they don’t have to chase profits like a private company. T&HD has a duty to serve Leguan Island at the scheduled time. Editor, it gets worse every year with the Leguan ferry service.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
