Dear Editor,
Reference is made to recent articles published in the media on the Charity Wharf and its current state of disrepair.
In one article, published in the January 20, 2018 edition of Kaieteur News, under the headline, ‘Vendors refuse to evacuate unsafe Charity Wharf’, the residents are cited as calling upon myself and a technical team from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure to offer an explanation on the state of the wharf and any planned works.
Furthermore, the Regional Vice Chairperson, Juliet Coonjah, is reported as saying that “the Ministry of Public Infrastructure was made aware of the issue since August 2017” but “to date there has been no information from the Ministry as regards to the Wharf.”
However, I must highlight that the responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the wharf currently does not rest with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure but rather with the Region 2 administration. The wharf has never been the responsibility of the Ministry. Therefore, the Ministry is, regrettably, not in the position to answer questions on the wharf’s operations and repairs. We also wish to remind the Regional administration that the responsibility of accommodating and/or relocating the vendors, if necessary, rests with them.
Nonetheless, the Ministry is willing to offer its technical assistance, where possible, to the Regional administration if they so desire, particularly in the interest of the safety and well-being of the vendors situated at the wharf.
Yours faithfully,
David Patterson, MP
Minister of Public
Infrastructure