The Ministry of Local Government’s failure to cope with the responsibility for encouraging economic development in municipalities and communities is causing airstrips, bridges and stellings across the country to fall apart, APNU said on Friday.
Speaking at a press briefing, APNU Leader David Granger said the lapse is a spinoff of the ministry’s obsession with the “day-day micro-management of local organs.”
Isolated communities in various regions depend heavily on airstrips for services, supplies and medical evacuation during an emergency and most of these frequently used airstrips receive only marginal maintenance, Granger stated.
He added that stellings were also neglected and left in a state of disrepair. “The stellings at Bartica, New Amster-dam, Parika, Rosignol, Stabroek, Vreed-en-Hoop and Wakenaam all need major rehabilitation,” he stated while noting that the infrastructure of the Parika stelling, one of the busiest ports, is unequipped to facilitate the ever-growing volume of daily traffic.
Meanwhile, Member of Parliament Joe Harmon said support to the changing pattern of the transport system has been almost “zero.” He added that development of physical infrastructure should be people centred.
Granger said APNU was convinced that the holding of local government elections was crucial for “the restoration of local democracy.”
He stated that, “the absence of a coherent infrastructure policy, the lack of a comprehensive plan and the failure to coordinate construction works have impaired economic development in local government areas.”
APNU, he said, is calling on the PPP/C Administration to radically change its approach to local government and regional development while noting that it should implement a new policy for the rehabilitation and construction of safe airstrips, bridges, canals, roads and stellings.
