The Committee of Supply has approved the estimates for Region 6 and Minister of Local Government Ganga Persaud said measures are in place to ensure fuel and lubricants are delivered to the right places.
The statement came after Persaud was asked by APNU Member of Parliament (MP) Volda Lawrence about the measures that will be put in place to ensure that lubricants and fuel were delivered to their respective places.
Persaud responded by describing the method by which the lubricants and fuel are delivered. He said that they no longer use buckets to do the measuring, instead “a meter system which will erase the element of approximation…,” is used.
He went on to say that the approval of estimates for the expansion of the New Amsterdam Regional Democratic Council (RDC) storage bond will also help in securing the fuel and lubricants and that they will seek to place security officers at the Whim operation to aid in the transparency process.
The proposed allocations for Region 6 were passed unanimously by members of both the opposition and the government on Monday.
Money was also allocated for the maintenance of roads in the region and APNU MP Amna Ally enquired if the entire East Bank Berbice road was slated for maintenance, but Persaud said “no,” only sections of the road will be maintained and some of the sections are Islington to Glasgow and Everton to Sisters Village among others.
Residents of East Bank Berbice had blocked a section of the road at Glasgow during heavy downpours to protest its deplorable condition and demand immediate action during the month of February this year. The residents had also blocked the road during the course of this month and had taken the protest action outside Parliament Building.
Alliance for Change (AFC) Region 6 representative Dr Veerasammy Ramayya quizzed Persaud mainly on the condition of his ministry’s vehicles in the region. Among the various questions he asked was one that pertained to a truck that is not working but still uses diesel, based on his information. Ramayya asked how a not-working truck can consume fuel. Persaud replied that he was advised that efforts were being made to repair the truck and he was not sure that Ramayya had evidence that the truck received fuel.
Ramayya went on to ask about a Hymac that he said was doing private work in the backdam of Port Mourant and was “stripped” after it was left unattended. Persaud replied that he cannot be aware of everything that happens in the region.
