Public Works Minister Juan Edghill yesterday announced that an operation will start on Monday to remove encumbrances from the country’s roadways and reserves.
The announcement comes weeks after the Ministry of Public Works issued a warning to property owners about derelicts along the roadways.
Speaking at the sod turning and contract signing for the Ogle to Eccles bypass road on Friday, Edghill said that the ministry will not be tolerating persons who think it is appropriate to vend or leave unused materials and objects on the road shoulders.
“As of Monday, the Ministry of Public Works will begin to move derelicts, sand, stone, debris, anything that is in the path and that is encumbering the road shoulders throughout the length and breadth of Guyana,” Edghill proclaimed.
He stated that enough time was given to persons to remove their property from the roadways. The minister added that if the government is spending money to upgrade and develop the roads in a bid to promote safety, it cannot encourage “lawlessness” by persons who believe it is acceptable to be a bother to the smooth flow of traffic.
“If somebody comes out with a dog food stand or a cart selling food or somebody decides to go on the reserve and wash a car and call it a car wash, should we allow that, as a country, to stop Guyana’s development? We can’t allow that,” he said.
The ministry has announced plans to clamp down and remove encumbrance’s on government reserves. Persons who fail to remove their property will have to pay a fee if they wish to reclaim the item from the ministry.
“That period of asking for moving is over…when you come to claim it, the only way you will get it is if you pay us the cost to move it,” Edghill announced.
In the case of persons undertaking construction and leaving building materials on the road, the minister said those will not be removed but advised that they have a temporary permit in place.
His comments were made in light of objections that ministry engineers received from persons operating nearby when they were preparing the site at Ogle for the sod turning event yesterday.
“We gotta do some cleaning up. We gotta do some movement. We gotta do some changes,” the minister said.
