Persons caught damaging infrastructure to be prosecuted – Region Five admin

DPI, Guyana, Thursday, July 19, 2018

The Region Five, Mahaica-Berbice administration will be taking legal action against those found damaging infrastructures provided by the government to facilitate farmers access to their farmlands.

This was revealed by Regional Engineer, Dhanpaul Sukha during a press conference held at the RDC’s boardroom on July 17.

According to Sukha, this issue has been one of the major challenges the administration faces whereby individuals are destroying the facilities put in place for the benefit of the residents, particularly the farm-to-market roads. He noted that actions need to be taken to stop such incidences from recurring.

“The region is expending a lot of money to have these farm-to-market roads done so that it will ease the burden of the farmers to get to their farmlands but if the farmers cannot maintain, care and protect those infrastructures though it is built for them…the region will have to take some alternative actions that can and may possibly result in legal actions taken against farmers,” the Regional Engineer explained.

He reiterated that the administration recognises the importance of such roads and finds the destruction of the structures unacceptable.

“In cases where there are deliberate actions that we (regional administration) are made aware … where we have a report and persons are able to come forward and provide us with relevant information we are going to take the necessary legal actions to have those persons prosecuted,” Sukha emphasised.

Earlier this year, the administration highlighted its intention to expand its network of farm-to-market roads in St John Village, West Coast of Berbice, Bowman Street.

The sum of GYD$8Million will be spent on resurfacing a stretch of the St. John access road while GYD$9Million has been awarded to repair Bowman Street from the eastern boundary of the village that runs parallel to the St John access road.

By: Neola Damon.