Residents of Port Kaituma have expressed concern over the condition of the roads there, even though millions are being spent annually to maintain and upgrade them.
This newspaper visited the Matarkai Sub–Region in Region One (Barima/Waini) recently and had a firsthand look at the slushy roads within the Port Kaituma area as well as those connecting the area to other communities in the region.
According to Port Kaituma residents, over the years the regional administration has expended various sums of monies to upkeep the roads which continue to pose major problems for motorists.
The roads in Central Port Kaituma have been in a slushy state for months and residents told this newspaper that they have made several complaints to the authorities, calling for substantial repairs to the road network, including the installation of urgently needed drainage systems.
They said that over the years the authorities have been carrying out works to the roadway at Central Port Kaituma but that involves merely grading the roadway and capping what remains with soil.
”This roadway here in a bad state for a long time now and if yo notice it got no drain and when the rain fall the water running along this road,” a miner told Stabroek News.
He said that the recently dissolved Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) had in the past carried out works to the roadways in the community but that body was not given the requisite support by the regional administration to undertake its works agenda.
“They put in a IMC now to look after Kaituma and so far nobody saying what programme they got to fix these roads,” the man stated.
The roads on the outskirts of the community are also in a perilous state. In the Fitzburg area, thick slush covered the roadway as huge trucks, some of them heading to the backdam areas, have made sections of the roadways virtually impassable for the growing number of private cars in the community.
APNU MP and Port Kaituma resident Richard Allen told this newspaper that the authorities have spent millions of dollars to upkeep the roads in the area but he noted that since sub-standard works were undertaken, the condition of the thoroughfares continues to be problematic.
He said that there is a section of the roadway at the Four–Mile stretch outside the mining community which leads to neighbouring Matthews Ridge on which a sum of $1.8M was spent for an upgrade. He said that such works were undertaken less than a month ago but that section of the roadway can only be traversed by the all-terrain vehicles and trucks.
Stabroek News was told that vehicle owners, who live several miles away from Port Kaituma and who work in the community, have been unable to drive through the area.
section of the roadway at the Four–Mile stretch, Port Kaituma. The area cannot be accessed by cars.
This newspaper also visited a 2000-feet long catwalk which connects Central Port Kaituma to the neighbouring community of Orinoco.
The walkway was built by Barama Company Limited more than a decade ago when the timber company’s operations were based in the area. The walkway is the main infrastructure which connects the two areas however it has fallen apart in recent times.
A road, which is being built alongside the walkway, has been left incomplete and residents told this newspaper that it is unclear when the works will be completed.
When Stabroek News visited the area recently, the road was being cleared. It is being built between two revetment walls, within which loads of earth was packed.
However, the sides of the walls began to fall under the pressure of the mud and several tie-rods were subsequently installed to hold the walls together.
Stabroek News understands that the regional administration is planning to undertake works to the roads at Port Kaituma in the months ahead and residents related that such works should include a comprehensive examination of the road network. They stressed that the issue of drainage is a key factor where the maintenance of roads is concerned.
