Latest update April 24th, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 16, 2014 News
Residents of Port Kaituma expect to get an upgrade of their community roads,
while the ongoing electricity problem is to be addressed.
The residents told Kaieteur News that currently, they only receive a full 24-hour supply of electricity, twice a month. The residents say they have to endure blackouts for the majority of the day since electricity, for the most part, is provided on a seven to eight hour basis.
The residents say that for almost a month now, they have been receiving electricity from 18:00hours to 24:00hours. According to the residents who made contact with this newspaper, the Port Kaituma Power and Light operators claim that they do not have money to purchase fuel.
One resident said that some time back, officials of the power company had claimed that there was a problem with the generator, but that has since been fixed. They say now the community is being told that there is no money to purchase fuel to operate the generator.
Another resident who identified himself as a taxi driver told Kaieteur News that he was robbed while operating during the blackout. Outside of that, the taxi driver complained about the deplorable roads in the community.
Earlier in the year, when Kaieteur News visited Port Kaituma, the taxi driver had given this newspaper a tour of the community highlighting the various issues plaguing it, specifically, the extremely bad roads. The driver had said that the roads remain in the same condition and this continues to be a challenge to easy movement in the area.
Another resident who is a miner also expressed discomfort with the electricity problem. He explained that he works in the goldfields and leaves his family alone at home. He said that the Local Government Minister had visited the community some time back and promised that the concerns would have been addressed. He claimed that the community accessed electricity during the Minister’s stay but it was back to blackout as soon as he departed.
Minister Whitaker told the newspaper on Tuesday that Port Kaituma residents were addressed during a visit to the community a few weeks ago. He said that he had a meeting with the Interim Management Committee (IMC) and it was agreed that a popular area called the cat walk would be repaired as resources are already available to do so.
The Minister explained that primary roads that lead to the three other major communities such as Matthew’s Ridge will also be addressed. The Manikuru Junction to Matthews’ Ridge, and then to Baramita is slated for upgrade. Minister Whittaker said that Region One engineers are also preparing relevant information for discussions with Natural Resources Minister, Robert Persaud who has expressed interest in assisting the situation.
In relation to the electricity matter, Minister Whittaker said that the utility company in the community is facing several issues. He said that during periods of lightning the generator is usually shut down, but it was alleged that one of the operators left the generator on during a lightning strike and the machine was affected.
Minister Whittaker said there is a problem where persons are not paying for the electricity service they receive and they have since been sent notices to make the relevant payments or face disconnections. “Of course you know what will happen if people are receiving a service and not paying for it,” the Minister posited.
Minister Whittaker noted however, that those who attended his Port Kaituma meeting weeks ago were made aware of what is taking place. “There are also those who just do not want to listen,” he opined.
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