Over 100 hire car drivers who operate in Black Bush Polder came together on Monday morning in protest, calling for officials to pay heed and fix their main access road, even as the region indicated that it is in the process of securing bids for the road’s repairs.
The drivers are contending that they have given officials long enough time to take it upon themselves to organise the finances to carry out the road works. However, they said that it has been over two years and nothing has yet been done to improve the deplorable state of the road, and as such, they believe that it is time for them to let their frustrations be heard.
Troy Fraser, who resides in Adventure Village, Corentyne and works the Black Bush route, on Monday stressed that it is time for Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson to pay heed to their call for a new main access road. The man noted that they have put up with the condition of the road for long enough.
Fraser said that over 150 hire cars operate/traverse the Black Bush Polder road daily. The drivers pointed out that they have to take large sums of money from their profits to repair their vehicles, which are being damaged due to the deplorable state of the road.
Notably, the issue of the Black Bush Polder road has been raised several times for the year at the region’s statutory meeting. At the most recent meeting, Regional Chairman David Armogan instructed the Regional Executive Officer, Kim Stephens, to use money from the region’s maintenance budget to fix the roadway.
Stephens, when contacted on Monday, explained that she had received the engineer’s estimate and that the bidding process had commenced. Questioned as to an estimated time when that process might be completed, Stephens said between one to two weeks’ time or later.
However, Armogan, when contacted on Monday, opined that Stephens was “pussyfooting” on the matter. He further stated that he believes, “Even though we have spoken to her on numerous occasions to try and get some work done in the Black Bush Polder Area, they are trying to stiffen off the money to go into areas where their supporters are and that is one of the problem with the monies that are available from savings under maintenance; they are trying to find roads within their support areas to do the work and that’s why they are not putting money into Black Bush or New Forest Area and soon nobody would be able to traverse the New Forest Road because that is in a bad state too”.
Armogan, in an interview with Stabroek News after this month’s statutory meeting, had explained that he had also written to Minister Patterson informing him that work is desperately needed on the Black Bush Polder main access road. “We have been clamouring for this road to be done for months now and I have written to Minister Patterson for months now telling him about the Black Bush Road and the New Forest road,” he stated.
Armogan had said that Patterson confirmed that he had received a letter from the chairman during a live television programme in Region Six recently. “He (Minister Patterson) said I’m only writing letters to him on their television programme,” he related.
According to the regional chairman, the persons on the television programme attacked him by insinuating to the general public that he (Armogan) was responsible for fixing the road since he sits at the helm of the regional administration.
However, Armogan pointed out that the REO is responsible for such works since she is the region’s accounting officer.
Armogan further pointed out that for the last budget the region submitted over 50 roads to be completed, while only eight were approved. “Unfortunately when these ministers had their ‘AFC On The Move’ programme, they were trying to tell the general public that you must go to the regional chairman, that he has to do the roads because he got the money to [do] the roads, which is an untruth,” he stated.
