Dear Editor,
During the week before the last elections I observed two hymacs and road graders cleaning up the Agriculture Road from the beginning of the road to the end near the NAREI stock farm. They eventually left, but to my amazement they left a huge plastic container opposite Market Street not too far from the GWI water tank.
Residents living there have used this container to dump their garbage, and now it is filled, but residents still dump their garbage by the ton near it, so that it has now become an eyesore with the stench emanating from it worse than that from a pit latrine.
The NDC chairman turned a blind eye to it, also the police and dignitaries working at NAREI. I am concerned about the behaviour of residents who live near this garbage dump who I believe should be charged for littering and dumping by the road corner and also in the Mon Repos trench. Why is it that no one working at the NDC just a few blocks away objected to this vile behaviour? Why is it the NDC chairman/woman does not put a stop to this considering that they walk there or drive daily to go to work? Who is responsible for this messed up area full of garbage on a daily basis? Now with more ministries with lots of different names which I am still trying to comprehend, one of the relevant ones should visit Agriculture Road to address this situation.
My next concern is the huge potholes building up in every corner of Agriculture Road from the head of the road to the end. If a driver is unaware of the hidden potholes he will suddenly drop into one or two and discover he can no longer drive because his vehicle wheel is twisted or his shocks damaged that will cause thousands of dollars to fix. I also notice that whenever the Minister of Agriculture visits the Agriculture School, the school administrators will quickly get the students to do some cleaning and fill these holes with inferior materials.
A lot of vehicles have been destroyed by these big potholes; even an old lady broke her hip in one and died two weeks later. A little child could drown in one of these holes when it rains. Yet, prominent people from NAREI, officials and even the police who drive along this road daily turn a blind eye to this menace.
We recently celebrated 49 years of independence but what is here to celebrate? It’s the same old basic problems we face from the old administration to the new, and now there is the rise in crime with brutal killings, robberies, murders ‒ and the long dismal list goes on. Those who make the laws break the laws; the rich are getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
It’s ridiculous if we can’t deal with basic garbage and drainage problems that cause immense flooding from just one hour of rain; it would mean it is not possible for us to govern this nation.
Yours faithfully,
Rev Gideon Cecil
