The Public Infrastructure Ministry (MPI) is seeking greater collaboration with enforcement agencies to curb the destruction of public infrastructure, says the Ministry’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Krest Cummings.
The official said that steps are being made to engage the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Public Security Ministry for more collaborative efforts, particularly in the areas of enforcement and monitoring.
Quizzed on whether these incidents have increased over the past months, the official responded in the affirmative; she noted that damage has already been imposed on the soon-to-be-completed East Coast Demerara Highway and there have been reports of similar incidents occurring in Berbice and Essequibo.
Cummings said that, currently, perpetrators are forced to either reimburse the state for damage incurred or to have them bear the cost of the required restorative works.
She observed also that the destruction to roadways is not caused only by farmers or by contractors who move heavy-duty equipment without low-bed or rubber wheels but also by citizens. The PRO added that the ministry has even considered communicating with its legal advisor to explore additional avenues of intervention.
The official was contacted by the Guyana Standard to comment on photos that were posted on the Ministry’s Facebook page. The photos showed a metal-tracked excavator on a newly-paved road at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Demerara. The machine reportedly belongs to a prominent service provider.
In the post, the ministry shared its intention to “seek the necessary compensation for the damage incurred.”
The company has since offered an apology via social media, noting that the machine was rented to a customer in close proximity to the public road. The company, in detailing what transpired, said that the excavator was awaiting a low-bed truck a few yards from the job site when a police officer instructed the operator to move the machine across the road due to it being “a traffic encumbrance”.
“It was only after the instructions of the police officer did the operator walk the excavator across the public road. Even with the circumstances of this incident, our company will still accept blame and disciplinary actions will be taken. We would once again like to apologise…[The company] stands committed to maintaining Guyana’s public infrastructure,” the company said.
