Main Opposition group APNU says residents at Aliki, Essequibo River are experiencing unnecessary hardships due to the lack of medical personnel to deal with malaria and a sloth in completing irrigation projects and other works.
APNU MP Joseph Harmon and a team of advisors from the Office of the Opposition found an incomplete drainage project, an incomplete solar system installed at the primary school and an unsteady wharf during a visit to the riverine community on Sunday. Harmon is the shadow minister of public infrastructure and he also has responsibility for Region Three, a press release said.
At a town hall-style meeting, residents said though government had awarded a contract to build a koker in the community years ago, to date the project remains incomplete. This has impeded farmers’ livelihood as they cannot easily transport their produce from the backlands to other areas and often lose crops because of flooding and other challenges.
Residents said they are also left at the mercy of predatory animals like jaguars which kill their cows and dogs, and lament the slow application process for firearms at the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Aliki Primary School is powered by solar energy but a key component of the system, the inverter, was reportedly removed by a Region Three official and never returned. This has affected the school’s Mathematics programme in the lower grades as students listen to instruction via the radio, the head teacher said.
Also, a solar panel donated to the clinic during the last elections campaign has yet to be installed, although requests have been made to the Local Government and Health ministries to do so. Residents further lamented that there are no facilities or trained personnel to deal with malaria which is plaguing the community.
Residents also complained that the main landing at the wharf was damaged by a tug boat belonging to BK Construction more than a year ago and has yet to be repaired. The damage to the structure has caused it to become wobbly and unsafe, particularly at low tide. Residents said that this problem had been brought to the attention of the company, to no avail.
APNU committed to apprising the respective agencies and ministries about the concerns raised at the meeting.
