Dear Editor,
After numerous letters expressing my concern about the Demerara Harbour Bridge, the ferry stelling at Vreed-en-Hoop and the conditions that commuters face travelling with speedboats, all of these problems together manifested themselves on Monday and have caused me to be in a state which I cannot express in words.
I have been privileged to be associated with a lot of people, some of whom had been ministers under the PNC government. I recall that approximately seven years ago I expressed my concern about the state of the Vreed-en-Hoop stelling and of the chaos that would happen if there was an emergency to Oscar Clarke, the General Secretary of the PNCR who told me that the PNC government had purchased a boat, the Steven N, with the intention of continuing to dredge the Demerara River. To date that boat could be seen occasionally at the Georgetown stelling but not doing what it is supposed to do. On Monday at 1.30pm the confusion that I witnessed at the Georgetown stelling only confirmed my fears that this country under the PPP/C is not prepared for disaster.
After hearing the news about the Harbour bridge, I decided to leave my house and venture into Georgetown just to see if my assumptions were true, and they were confirmed. There were a lot of police officers (my count is 20) from the Vreed-en-Hoop junction to the stelling, where commuters have to venture to get a speedboat.
They were just standing there as if there had been a big robbery and were looking for a thief to walk up to them. Most motorists would agree that when the police at any point direct traffic, it only makes it more congested and their presence makes things harder.
Editor, recently I was with aspiring leader of the PNCR Mr Carl Greenidge on the West Bank Demerara, and when we were returning to Georgetown we got caught in traffic at the Demerara Harbour Bridge. Upon investigation we learnt that a trailer had overturned on the bridge (ironically there was no mention of that disaster in the media) and once again I expressed my concern about the state of the Vreed-en-Hoop stelling, and he too voiced his concern to me.
Editor, apart from letters by me published by Stabroek News and Kaieteur News, I also express my views privately to others, under the impression that these issues would be raised somewhere, but to my dismay this never happened. I have come to the conclusion that those whom we are supporting at elections are only concerned about themselves, because at the end of the day, we the poor people are feeling the squeeze, and those in power or position don’t have to endure what those who help them to attain their status have to endure.
Yours faithfully,
Sahadeo Bates
