Dear Editor,
Not having travelled on the trail to Lethem for quite a while, my trip last week was something of a nightmare. The trail has deteriorated a lot. A trip that previously took ten hours, instead took fourteen.
Recently I heard an official mention that coaches could bring tourists from Georgetown to the Rupununi. Obviously he has not travelled on the trail recently. Let me emphasize: the trail is hazardous and tiring.
All who are coming for the rodeo would do well to find out beforehand if the road has been graded, potholes filled, and the ‘scrubbing board’ at Pirara properly levelled. If there is rain before Easter and no repairs are done, there will be even more horrors for drivers.
I felt some enthusiasm last year when President Lula announced that money was available from the Brazilian government to pave the road. This offer was a tremendous opportunity for trade, tourism and investment both ways. Brazil is well known for building all-weather roads, so what is the holdup?
I keep asking why so many feasibility surveys of the trail? When will a decision about paving it be finally made?
And if no headway is being made, then why isn’t it at least properly maintained? I thought that if there were no ramifications between the two governments, then everything would have been okay. At the rate we are going we could lose a golden opportunity if Brazil chooses Suriname over Guyana as its gateway to the Atlantic.
Hats off to the drivers of buses, trucks and fuel tankers who help to keep the Rupununi going despite the extreme conditions.
Yours faithfully,
Gloria Lye