Protests averted…East Bank Berbice road to undergo construction in March

Jan 29, 2017 News

In what seems to be the most positive news, residents of the East Bank Berbice

The Public Infrastructure official with the Berbice residents.

will see the much anticipated East Bank Berbice Road commence re-construction in March. This is according to a Ministry of Public Infrastructure representative, Nelson McKenzie, during a visit to the area on Tuesday.
He told residents who had gathered for a protest on the East Bank Berbice Road after the state of the access route became unbearable, “I’ve come on behalf of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and my message to you is hope, because finally the ministry will commence in a short while, the process of the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the road.”
According to McKenzie, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has already signalled a green light for the project.
While some residents seemed not too keen on what he was saying, because of the fact that they were promised many times that the road would be reconstructed, others were optimistic. McKenzie told the frustrated residents that the process is at an evaluation stage as the necessary tender process will have to be completed.
He said that when the evaluation of the tenders is complete the contracts will be awarded.

The current situation of the East Bank Berbice road.

“The East Bank Road project is definitely on. It will start on or before March 22. That is the deadline,” McKenzie told the residents.
He explained that as soon as the process of evaluating the contracts is completed there will be a public notice as to who will be awarded the contract and which company they will be working on behalf of.
The meeting was intended to thwart attempts by residents to protest the delay in the project. The government had stated that the project to reconstruct a section of the East Bank Berbice Main Access Route was awaiting an approval from the Ministry and the IDB to accept the contractor that was selected at the conclusion of the tender process.
The proposed protest was spearheaded by AFC representative, Reynard Ward, but was halted after the residents received word that a “senior official” from the Government will be meeting with them.
Residents however, expressed their lack of trust in what McKenzie would have divulged to them, since he was reluctant to provide a detailed description of who he was and what position he holds at the Ministry.