Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill has firmly highlighted that the PPP/C Government’s efforts to restore the barge service in Kwakwani have drastically enhanced the lives of its residents.
The minister was at the time defending a $138 million supplementary allocation in the Committee of Supply, during the 89th Sitting of the National Assembly on Wednesday.
This allocation serves to account for the repairs to the pontoon at Kwakwani, Region Ten.
The minister said that the barge service, under the previous PPP/C Government, was organised and engaged with a private service provider who was responsible for the maintenance and repairs of the pontoon.
However, when the government left office in 2015, this service was redirected to the purview of the Kwakwani Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) to operate.
“So basically what happened, the pontoon continued to run, there were no repairs, no maintenance. The monies that were derived were used up by the KNDC and the pontoon deteriorated. The pontoon began to sink. In order for the economic activity in that community to continue, which is primarily forestry, the government of Guyana made an intervention,” he explained.
The pontoon was taken out of service, and with the support of the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DBHC) and its sub-contractors, the government restored the pontoon to resume its service to the people of Kwakwani and other users.
“This money represents answering a problem that was created by a government then that didn’t understand what would happen when they did what they did: to have a pontoon operating without a mechanism for service and repairs. This money is what was used to repair that pontoon and put it back into service,” he said.
The barge service, which remains with the KNDC, has been a lifeline to many people who live and work in the western and eastern territories of Kwakwani. It serves as a vital transportation link for goods across the Berbice River, ensuring that residents of Kwakwani have access to essential services like healthcare, education, and government services in larger towns and cities.
This service also supports critical industries like logging, mining, and agriculture.
The barge resumed operations in early June, after approximately 100 hours of strenuous repair work led by DHBC Manager Wayne Watson and a team of 39 DHBC staff.
The minister also took the opportunity to thank the persons who travelled to Kwakwani and worked day and night to ensure that these repairs were done.
“We were told that the KNDC did not even have the funds to buy fuel for the generators that the men needed to use to work at night,” the minister pointed out.
He emphasised that the pontoon operation is a commercial venture with a designated operator responsible for collecting fees and maintaining the infrastructure. Therefore, the Ministry of Public Works was not obligated to fund maintenance costs.
According to Minister Edghill, the ministry’s intervention was prompted by the KNDC’s inability to finance the operation any longer.
“The chairman, the vice chairman, and the councillors met me in my office, and…they were appealing for help for many things. All the roads that we did in Kwakwani were in consultation with them. Everything we did was in consultation with them,” he noted.
The public works minister further emphasised, “This was about the lives and livelihood of the people of Kwakwani and their economic future. Government went in with an intervention and restored that. We handed them back and pontoon and said ‘you have seven to ten years, based upon the work that was done’ in open forum. Everybody was able to see.”
This sum is part of the larger $223.8 million supplementary provision allocated to the Ministry of Public Works.
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