Dear Editor,
It’s quite disturbing to see this government continuously boasting of development even though whatever they do is riddled with scandals and incompetence. For their whole history whilst in power, the public transportation system keeps choking the commuters blatantly with ridiculous fares, and this government would conveniently condemn their actions, but shrewdly fails to put a system in place to prevent these despicable actions from recurring.
The recent widespread unscrupulous fare increase caused commuters to shout loudly, and unsurprisingly, this failure of a government comes out as usual, condemns the actions and done with that. Meanwhile, all sections of the public transportation system have increased their fares and informed commuters. Is this government incompetent to address this situation or are they just being hypocritical? I’m not certain if I’ve ever heard of any operators being charged for price gouging!
Editor, one thing for sure, this government definitely enjoys the freedom provided to them and every opportunity given they capitalize on in an attempt to further their lifeline in governance. Also during their tenure in office, our roadways continue to be a zone for deadly accidents and their masterpiece plan is to tackle ‘dark tints’. Meanwhile, on the roadways, trucks and heavy-duty vehicles are parked carelessly without any indicators/warning signs. Some are abandoned for days and weeks, in such manner that blocks visibility in any direction, forcing people to venture into danger. One such example is right at the head of Uitvlugt Sideline Dam, just where there’s a turn. One mechanic chooses to have trucks parked on the Uitvlugt public road, sometimes even double parking. Then many store operators have all their vehicles parked in front of their business places, double parking and even inoperable vehicles. Truthfully, they are quick to make announcements under the guise to give people confidence they are working but they lack consistency and vision to undertake any project successfully.
Finally Editor, many people keeps complaining of the harassment drivers face daily on the roadways, it is commendable that the Minister of Legal Affairs chooses to inform the public of their rights when police stop them and what actions are available. Now, if a policeman harasses you on the roadway, will you get fair treatment when you enter the police station to make an allegation against the officer’s colleague?
During the morning and afternoon hours, Region 3 has serious traffic congestion from Vreed-en-Hoop to Tuschen and most are of the opinion that the traffic officers are the main source for the congestion. When they’re not present, traffic flows smoothly, so what gives? From Uitvlugt to Farm (East Bank Essequibo) there’s 5-6 sets of police throughout the day stopping almost every vehicle passing and some are ‘shaking down’ drivers.
Meanwhile the stations are still surrounded with heavily tinted vehicles, owned by police officers, whilst the average man could be harassed.
So much for development!
Yours faithfully,
Sahadeo Bates
Discussion