General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has called on Guyanese to point out poor quality infrastructural work in their communities so that the government can take the necessary steps to rectify these issues.
With over 40,000 contracts being implemented nationwide, Dr Jagdeo reasoned that the government cannot oversee the day-to-day operations of each project personally, and this is where the citizens’ observations are important.
“We’re open, we’re transparent, and we’re encouraging the citizens; If you see public infrastructure being done in your communities and you see it being done in a shoddy manner, speak up. Post a picture online. We don’t take it as a criticism of the government if you expose shoddy work being done. We have a duty to go and check it out and fix it, because we can’t be everywhere and see everything the same time,” he underscored at his weekly press conference at Freedom House on Thursday.
Dr Jagdeo pointed to the construction of 12 new hospitals, new schools, roads and bridges that are ongoing and support the improvement of people’s welfare and the expansion of the economy.
These projects are the result of a vision and concrete plan for people-centered development.
However, the GS acknowledged that in some cases, the callous execution of some projects causes needless inconvenience.
He said that as the general secretary of the PPP, whose manifesto promises see unprecedented expansion of the country’s infrastructure, he is committed to listening to the frustrations of the people and seeking to have these addressed.
Dr Jagdeo reiterated that in these cases the issue is not with the planning of these projects, but with their implementation.
“It has nothing to do with planning. It’s just neglect. It’s neglect and people not doing what they should be doing. We pay engineers for a purpose – to make sure that things are done well. But they can’t do so and behave like little gods,” the GS said.
He said that the government is not offended or disturbed by the public’s initiative to call out shoddy work. Rather, he explained, the government takes these criticisms in stride and use them as opportunities to improve the quality of service being meted out to the Guyanese public.
“What are we here for, if not to improve the public work we do? It is not a failure of the government. In fact, it is the government working to see that we do things well and we get value for money,” he emphasised.
In his remarks at the recently concluded Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo, the GS expressed dissatisfaction at the Ministry of Public Works’s management of construction sites, acknowledging the inconvenience posed to citizens as these projects get underway.
He explained that while a slight inconvenience is understandable given the magnitude of infrastructural projects underway, there must be greater coordination among the various agencies involved. (Department of Public Information)
