Over two dozen residents of Plaisance, East Coast Demerara yesterday returned to the Plaisance/Industry Community Centre Ground to protest the erection of a tower at the site for the government’s e-governance project without their knowledge, while a community meeting to address their grievances is still being considered.
The protest was staged by about 25 residents who are determined to have their voices heard after not being consulted on the placement of the structure, which was initiated on the direction of the Office of the President (OP), unbeknownst to the Interim Management Committee (IMC) installed by the government to manage the affairs of the Plaisance/Industry neighbourhood.
Residents agreed that consultation should have been among the first actions undertaken in order to site the tower, but there seemed to be some differences among them about settling the matter. While some were outright against the erection of the tower, others said they were open to dialogue to find an amicable solution. In addition, some residents also complained about their inability to use the ground for major activities over the last two years since the emergence of the housing development at Sparendaam North, known as ‘Pradoville 2.’
On Sunday, objections by residents resulted in the work to erect the tower being halted. While technical adviser on the project Walter Willis had said at that time that he was uncertain of the reasons for building the tower at the location, yesterday he said that part of the reason was the density of the population and the fact that the ground is a public place. He said that the government is looking to provide the e-governance service to the widest cross-section of society as possible while also attempting to ensure the security of the structures. He noted that plans are in the works to construct similar towers in the compounds of the Den Amstel Police Station, the West Demerara Regional Hospital and grounds at Windsor Forest and Uitvlugt, all on the West Coast of Demerara.
Willis told Stabroek News that once the project was opposed by members of the community, he ordered the sub-contractor to demobilize and called for the removal of all materials and equipment that had been taken to the site. A check of the ground, however, revealed that though the crane had been removed, the piles still remained. Several residents yesterday called for the removal of the piles and the refilling of the hole which was dug to construct the tower’s foundation.
Willis said no further works will be carried out until those concerned are met with, their concerns heard, and a consensus reached. He also maintained that the spot selected for the tower would not affect any of the activities held at the ground. He said that the tower would be built in a dead spot between the pavilion and a basketball court currently being constructed. Once the court is completed, however, it is quite possible that the tower would block spectators sitting in the pavilion from viewing the basketball games.
Willis also said that worries about the threat of radiation affecting persons are unfounded. He noted that the towers to be built are similar to those built by the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company and Digicel, and that they pose no harm whatsoever.
Open to dialogue
Beryl Haynes, a longstanding resident of the community, said “they have not had the common courtesy to consult the people on this matter.” Nevertheless, she added that “we are open to discussion; we are open to dialogue to see how best we can come to an amicable solution in relation to the problem. We are not against the technology. We are not against the country developing in the technological field. Our problem is we were not consulted. It’s like they’re running roughshod over us, you know? They come and take it and there is nothing we can do about it, you know?”
In addition to residents, the IMC was also left out of plans to place the tower in the community centre ground. A source close to the IMC, which was installed late last year after Minister of Local Government Ganga Persaud dissolved the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), had said that while the issue was raised once at a statutory committee meeting, it was not deliberated on by the members.
Stabroek News understands that the committee was informed by overseer Kyron Williams, who is not from the community but was placed there last year during the period where the local government shifted around overseers, that once the letter came from the OP it cannot be stopped so it was not deliberated on by the committee. Stabroek News understands that persons who work in the NDC office were also in the dark about the erection of the tower and it appears as if Williams was the only person who was aware of the plans.
On Monday, Williams refused to make a comment on the matter and attempts to reach her yesterday proved futile. Seedath Persaud, the IMC’s Chairman, on Monday also said he would not comment until he had met with the other committee members. However, when contacted yesterday Persaud said that he would not be addressing any questions relating to the issue and that any such inquiries should be directed to the OP.
A source had said that the situation would have turned out better if the committee was included in the deliberations, since the committee would not have bypassed the residents.
Region Four Chairman Clement Corlette said that the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) has also been left in the dark about the erection of the tower and that he only learned about the works after reading the papers on Monday.
However, this is not the first time the local governing bodies were excluded from such projects. Former Chairman of the now defunct Plaisance/Industry NDC Clinton Rollox pointed out that while he was chairman of the NDC at the time the land was distributed in ‘Pradoville 2,’ he was none the wiser about the process or even how the area became a housing area.
Victimised
Willis agreed that if consultations were held prior to the construction, the current situation could have been avoided. He said however, that they are currently working to correct this mistake.
Haynes said “we would rather not have it there, but we are still open to negotiation, we are going to have a committee in place [and which is] going to be representing the rest of the village and who would be able to discuss where we go from there.”
Another resident said the government should take the tower to the location where the old tower was. She said that the space where the old tower was torn down, in ‘Pradoville 2,’ remains vacant to this day, and is more than sufficient to hold the new one.
Meanwhile, some residents are alleging that they are now being victimised since they decided to take a stand. Residents said that on Monday evening, festivities being held at the Community Centre ground as well as the Plaisance section of the seawalls were stopped by police at around 7, while other grounds were allowed to continue their activities until midnight and beyond. In addition to the interruptions, they claimed tha
t for the past two years they have been unable to use the ground for any major activities. A resident said that since the emergence of ‘Pradoville 2,’ the ground’s administrators have not been granting permission to use it. On Sunday, a resident said that this was the case due to disturbance complaints made by residents of ‘Pradoville 2.’
Willis said the erection of the tower is part of the government’s $3.1billion e-governance project, which would see the running of fibre-optic cables from Lethem to Georgetown. The project is to be completed by September after setbacks delayed its completion by more than two years.
