Dozens of irate residents from the East Coast village of Plaisance yesterday blocked the erecting of a tower for the government’s e-governance project noting that it was to be placed on their community centre ground.
The residents swarmed the Plaisance Community Centre Ground and stopped what engineer for the Ministry of Public Works, Walter Willis says is the first of over 50 signal towers to be erected for the e-governance project. A meeting will now be held tomorrow to try to settle the dispute. It is unclear how the ground was chosen for the tower and residents were incensed that there had been no consultation with them.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday Willis explained that the works are part of the Government of Guyana’s $3.1 billion e-governance project, and that he was tasked with assisting with the implementation of the project by providing the necessary technical oversight.
Asked why the community centre ground was chosen for the site of the tower, Willis said that though several factors could have played a role in determining the site of the tower, he was unaware of these and was simply told by Project Manager, Alexi Ramotar, that this was to be the site of the first tower.
The tower, he said, only required a 33x33ft space of land, which was in line with the ground’s pavilion.
One resident said that village residents were completely oblivious to what was happening in their “own back yard” since the government had not engaged them on the matter.
Rodwell Lewis, a resident of Plaisance and a member of the Development Committee said that the works had apparently begun some days ago. He said that a group of persons who frequented the ground noticed construction works in progress when they visited the ground for a football game last week. He said that the works were dismissed since they men thought the works were being carried out by their Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC).
Residents say however that alarms were raised after a group of Chinese nationals were yesterday seen carrying out works on the tower’s foundation. A Chinese company has been engaged for the e-governance project. Upon seeing this, residents say they converged on the site and approached the supervising engineer to find out the nature of the works being done. It was only then, said the angry residents, that they became aware of what was happening.
Former People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) MP Aubrey Norton, who was present at the location, described the act as “contemptuous” and “ridiculous.”
He said that the constitution stipulates that if ever a government decision will impact a community the way this project will, the community members ought to be engaged. This apparently was not done. Norton explained that instead the government implemented an Interim-Management Committee (IMC) and gave it administrative control of the Community Centre and the Ground. This therefore enabled them to acquire permission to commence works on the tower.
Plaisance residents also challenged this form of control. The residents said that theirs was the only Centre along the East Coast that was not controlled by the people of the community. They said that the IMC does not take proper care of the ground which has become uneven and over-run with brush. Further, mud from the excavated foundation site was placed at several sections of the ground, making an already bad situation worse.
In addition, residents say that many of their requests to use the ground for events are usually turned down by its administrators because of complaints made by residents of the housing scheme located directly behind the ground.
Norton said that the issue could have been avoided if the tower which previously existed in Sparendaam was not demolished and relocated to Parfait Harmonie, West Bank Demerara. He said that the transmitter was one of the best of its kind, but was pulled down to make room for the housing scheme better known as Pradoville 2.
More than this, he said that the radiation which may be emitted from the tower to be erected will present a health hazard for persons who utilize the Plaisance ground.
Residents of the committee say that they will not take the matter lightly and several of them were mobilizing to traverse the community in an effort to create awareness and raise support.
Willis said that once the project was challenged by residents he ordered the sub-contractor to demobilize and called for the removal of all materials and equipment that had been taken to the site. He said that a meeting will be convened tomorrow, during which the residents’ concerns will be heard and considered.
The project will see the running of fibre-optic cables all the way from Lethem to Georgetown. The project, the Government says will lower the cost of doing business in Guyana. Ramotar had told Stabroek News that one of the major problems ICT companies have is frequencies since it is very expensive. By using fibre optic and microwave the government aims to lower costs to encourage companies to come on board as well as lower its own costs in relation to the use of more advanced technology.
Works are expected to be completed by September after several setbacks caused the project to miss its completion date by more than two years.
In his budget speech on Monday, Finance Minister Ashni Singh referred to the towers to be built under the project.
He said “In 2013, over $2 billion is budgeted to advance this work, including provision for the construction of 54 LTE-A towers to be strategically placed in the most densely populated areas from Moleson Creek to Charity, Linden and Lethem. Once completed, e-Government services and content will be delivered to the major population centres using this network.”
