Dear Editor,
I consider it a total failure on the part of Kwakwani elected representatives on the Regional Democratic Council of Region Ten and Junior Minister within the Ministry of Finance to allow another road project to commence in the Kwakwani community.
Our community was promised paved roads for the first time after the 2011 regional and general elections.
A stretch of road was constructed and destroyed within 6 months. That same stretch was redone and, as I predicted, also lasted for just over 6 months. Now with the rainy season here, the community is getting a clear picture of the exceedingly poor quality of work and waste of money.
It is very surprising that after wasting millions of dollars on a paved road, work is in progress to do another stretch of paved road.
I will repeat what I said in the presence of the Junior Minister of Finance and a Regional Official on the night of May 25, 2014 at the Flag-raising Ceremony: “I am not against development and I am not saying that monies are not spent on developmental work within my community, but the only people benefiting from these projects and monies are the contractors. Why spend so much money on a road and it only lasts for six months?”
Editor, my community saw in the recent past, residents who were laid off by the bauxite company collaborating with the elected NDC representatives and using money given as subventions to the community for a labour-intensive work programme.
That programme saw teams of residents (male and female) using spades and wheelbarrows to fill potholes and low areas on our community’s roads with bauxite overburden donated by the bauxite company.
The quality of road, though not paved and costing less, lasted longer than what is presently being done by contractors.
I would have been ashamed to be an elected representative of my community or a government minister who visits Kwakwani on a regular basis, preaches about value for money at a national level, and yet gives a no-objection for a road project in Kwakwani that lasts for less than a year.
Yours faithfully,
Jocelyn Morian