After weeks of uncertainty over the planned siting of an e-governance signal tower at the Plaisance Community Centre Ground, residents of the East Coast Demerara (ECD) community may very well be granted their wish of having the site relocated.
During a meeting last Friday, residents remained adamant that the tower’s site be relocated, while E-Governance Project Director Alexi Ramotar attempted to win them over.
Ramotar explained that the government still “would really like to use the site due to its strategic geographical benefits.”
He said that the space identified is located in the center of a highly-populated area, which will enable the services that will be subsequently provided to be offered to a wide cross section of the population.
In response to suggestions to relocate the site, Ramotar explained that any further west or east would put the tower too close to others at the University of Guyana (UG) and Beterverwagting (BV).
When asked about the possibility of placing the tower in the compound of the Sparendaam Police Station, Ramotar explained that this was impossible because of the tower’s height. He also said that placing the tower at the site of the former National Communications Network (NCN) radio station transmission site at Sparendaam was not an option since Ogle’s International Airport’s status forbids structures beyond a specified height—such as the signal towers-from being erected in the airport’s flight zone. Residents were not at all pleased to hear this. One woman said that if safety was a consideration, then the nearby housing scheme referred to as ‘Pradoville 2,’ where former president Bharrat Jagdeo resides, should not have been placed where it is.
The residents made the point that although they were not as tall as a signal tower, houses in the vicinity of any airport are always in harm’s way, as was demonstrated two weeks ago when an aircraft crashed into the residence of a Plaisance woman.
Persisting in his attempts, Ramotar refuted claims that the government wanted to take the entire field, saying that the tower only required 33 square feet. Residents, however, said that they would not relinquish “not even a piece of the ground.”
In light of complaints coming out of BV, the residents also noted the damage caused by pile driving and its possible effects to the Plaisance Community Centre. However, Ramotar assured the residents that no such damage would occur.
Ultimately, the group remained unconvinced. As the meeting was drawing to a close one resident said “Mr. Chairman (Clement Corlette, Region Four Chairman), I’d just like to ensure that the team understands that it ain’t going there.”
Former People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) MP and resident of Plaisance Aubrey Norton eventually suggested that members of the community meet with Ramotar and his team during this week to survey another suitable location. Ramotar, who seemed resigned to the suggestion, indicated that it would have to be done according to the availability of the project engineers.
Norton on Thursday said, however, that Ramotar was yet to make contact with the residents to determine a suitable date and time. He said that despite being supplied with the contact information of a resident of the community, Ramotar had not reached out to the contact.
Calls to Ramotar to find out when contact would be made with the residents were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, Stabroek News understands that a decision may have already been taken to forego using the field for the siting of the tower. According to a source close to the project, a decision has already been taken to refill the hole dug at the community center ground, and to remove the three piles which remained. A check of the ground subsequently revealed that three remaining piles had indeed been removed, although the hole remained unfilled.
Residents of the ECD community have been opposing the decision to use the ground as the tower’s site since they learned of the plans on March 31st. Three protests and two meetings later it seems they may have been successful in their bid.
