Residents of Lethem are concerned at the sloth in the enhancement of sections of the community saying that some parts are neglected while other areas appear to be “favoured”.
The border community had been earmarked for upgrading to township status by the authorities particularly with the opening of the Takutu Bridge and residents noted yesterday that the community is awaiting several key upgrades.
At Windmill road, residents said that that area had been the backbone of the community in years past as many residents who settled in the border community over the years had stayed there. A resident who wished not to give his name but who worked with the military as a young man and settled at Lethem during the Rupununi uprising, told Stabroek News yesterday that in recent times Lethem has been developing rapidly but he noted that sections of the community appeared neglected.
“Is like what happening in the Coastland, some areas appear favoured more than some”, the man said. He said for years he had worked to make life comfortable for his family and while his children have grown up, they are made to wait for “simple things like getting a house lot here”. He said that in recent times, many persons who are new to the community appeared to have been favoured where the allocation of house lots is concerned.
The man noted that house lot applications are processed by the Housing Ministry in the city with the regional administration having little say as regards the final allocation of lots. Pointing to the Tabatinga housing area which has seen a number of homes being constructed, the man noted that persons would sometimes “believe that a lot is their own but then when we hear housing coming up here, we are often made to go through anxious moments as sometimes the lot on which you already built your columns would be given to someone else”.
He said that persons would not have much difficulty in paying for the lots but he noted that the paperwork in the city is being undertaken with little regard for the people who had been occupying the land at Lethem.
It was noted too by another resident that the community is in dire need of waste disposal services as many are forced to dump garbage in areas within the community since there is no such service available. The resident said that that for Lethem to be recognized as a trading hub, the aforementioned was one aspect of development which needed to be addressed.
According to the woman, there is an incinerator at the southern section of the community but there is no available transport to take garbage to the site. “You see it’s these little things which we need to develop this place because right next door in Roraima they have all these things”, the woman said.
Another resident, Austin Ambrose, told Stabroek News yesterday that the community had seen some development in recent times but areas such as paved roads need to be addressed. He said that as the area experiences dry eaving the communities on the outskirts of Lethem to settle in the developing community. “I use to live at Haiawa and me and my wife moved here with our daughter who living here last September”. He said that life in the community is fairly “good”.
Ambrose who works as a security guard said that he had seen Lethem move from a “primitive” stage to a more advanced community with the immigration of Coastlanders and Brazilians to the border community.
Lethem’s potential had been recognized by many stakeholders and President Bharrat Jagdeo said over the weekend while speaking to residents at the annual Rupununi Rodeo, that the community’s economic potential will be realised in time. The president pointed to ongoing projects in the Rupununi such as drilling for oil and the exploration for gold. He said that in time Lethem will grow from strength to strength, and reaffirmed his government’s commitment to developing the border community.
A Windmill Street resident said that there is need for the regional authorities to better market the community to their superiors on the Coastland, since according to him, “if they don’t do anything now Lethem will crawl towards being a town”.
