The A Partnership For National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) is accusing the Government of executing acts that are resulting in the assault and mistreatment of citizens and communities.
Pointing to the Independence Boulevard Project currently underway in the La Penitence/Albouystown area, the coalition says they note the concerns of the residents identified for removal by the Ministry of Public Works, to facilitate the project. These residents, the Opposition says, publicly expressed their displeasure at the high-handed and disrespectful manner in which Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill is carrying out the mandate of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government in addressing matters relating to their relocation.
According to the APNU+AFC on Friday, September 16th, 2022, their Members of Parliament visited the area and interacted with persons on the ground and were informed by residents they are not against the development of the area but the treatment they are receiving from the government.
Speaking at the weekly press conference, the coalition recalls the PPP/C Government in its previous iteration, when they removed the squatters from the Lamaha Railway Embankment, provided those squatters with a free house lot, building materials and transportation to move their possessions and building materials to their new location. “The people of Albouystown are demanding the same and deserve the same.”
Using the dissimilar treatment to the same situation the Opposition says this is evidence of the government’s “failing to adopt a holistic approach to the development of the area.”
It is further pointed out a cursory examination of the roads and drainage infrastructure in the La Penitence/Albouystown community would reveal that they are in the most deplorable state and in urgent need of repair. One would think, says the opposition, that repairing and upgrading the primary infrastructure within the community would have been the obvious priority.
Minister of Public Works, Mr. Juan Edghill, in a recent Facebook post, told Guyanese, Georgetown residents should vote for the PPP/C so that the government could fix their roads and do more for City Hall.
The APNU+AFC is demanding a cessation of disrespect of the Albouystown residents and calls on the government to provide the necessary support in order to facilitate relocation of persons identified for removal from the area.
According to the Opposition, the PPP “Clearly has no vision for the development of communities including Albouystown and is taking a piecemeal approach to development rather than having a clear vision backed by a comprehensive plan.”
