Following protest action by several dozen residents of Mahdia last week, the water woes and other issues facing the Region 8 community are being addressed by the authorities.
Last Thursday, several dozen residents gathered in front of the office of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) to protest the condition of the main roadway passing through the community, a fluctuating water supply as well as the absence of a community waste disposal system.
The residents also voiced their “lack of support“ for Regional Executive Officer (REO), Ronald Harsawack, who they argued has been dictating the affairs of the region while having little regard for the AFC-led chairmanship.
According to a councilor at Mahdia, the council met on Thursday and Friday of last week and during the first day’s meeting, more than 100 residents of the community and neighbouring villages gathered in front of the RDC building to protest several issues. He said that during the meeting, the standing orders were suspended to allow a few leaders of the protest to voice their concerns.
He said that the issues raised were recorded with assurances that they would be addressed. It was noted that while the protest action was on-going, another group of residents moved to the roadway which leads to the airstrip on the outskirts of Mahdia to protest over their concerns.
Another resident stated that several planks were placed across the road and residents continued to call on the authorities to address issues affecting them. The police were later called in to man the scene as road traffic was affected for more than two hours.
This newspaper understands that during the weekend, action was taken to address the water problems. A resident stated that two problems exist where water supply is concerned: low gravity as well as “deliberate attempts” by some in the mining community to break the water mains.
This newspaper understands that personnel attached to the water utility are in the region to assess the water problems. At the same time, the RDC is in search of a plan which gives an indication of where the water mains are within the community.” Right now we don’t know where the pipes are under this community”, an official attached to the RDC office noted yesterday.
Meantime, this newspaper understands that the residents of Mahdia will be petitioning for the removal of Harsawack from the region since they noted that he has not been cooperating with the RDC as regards the management of the affairs of Mahdia.
A resident at the community stated yesterday that several months ago, a number of complaints were made to the REO who promised to attend to their concerns but they have not seen any changes in their community.
Since being elected to their respective posts, the Regional Chairman and the REO have had their differences ventilated in the press and last month, Local Government Minister, Ganga Persaud told Stabroek News that the differences between the regional chairman and the REO were being ironed out.
“If they don’t work together it can be counterproductive to the development of [the region] and to the detriment of the people. I told both parties this… so we are going to give them two months and see if the issues are put to rest, if not we go back to the drawing board,” Persaud told Stabroek News. The minister also charged both men to at least form a working relationship.
The minister’s comments come in the wake of a formal complaint that Crawford lodged at the ministry, alleging that Harsawack was sidelining him.
