Although, $9.6M has been spent on installing new road lights in Linden, Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon is dissatisfied.
Stating that Cummings Electrical has completed the installation of the new road lights but the connection has not been made, Solomon told RDC councilors at their April statutory monthly meeting that he wanted to register his dissatisfaction that the lights were not installed from Bamia.
He said a request was made at the seventh meeting between the Region’s representatives and the government for improvement in the standard of the Linden/Soesdyke Highway, including lighting. “In fact, we also asked for lighting from the Soesdyke Junction to as far as Kuru Kuru – from that end … and from Bamia, coming into Linden. I’m still not seeing lighting from Bamia all the way to Republic Avenue. I see lighting from just about Phase Three Area,” Solomon said, adding that the upgrading of road lights forms part of the on-going Linden beautification programme.
The Regional Chairman said that while the Chief Executive Officer of the Linmine Secretariat, Horace James, has no objection to the Linden Electricity Company Inc. (LECI) supplying electricity to the poles being planted under the programme by the Ministry of Public Works, he has expressed some concerns about the project.
One concern is that the out-of-town contractors are not working with local personnel, who will have to service those poles when the out-of-town workers leave, and they are not certain about the specifications of the poles.
“The other concern is, who will pay for the electricity that goes to the poles bearing in mind that the Linden IMC already has an outstanding light bill in excess of $40M,” Solomon said. “The bottom line, though, is that LECI is willing to switch the lights on but other arrangements will have to be made.”
The Regional Chairman said a request has also been made for lighting at Wismar and the information given is that provision will be made in the 2014 budget for lights to be placed along the Winifred Gaskin Highway and Burnham Drive. (Jeff Trotman)
