Opposition MP David Lee said the recent discontinuation of the Bus Service from San Fernando to Mayaro and Guayaguayare by the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) due to deplorable road conditions in Robert Village, Tableland reflects the massive level of incompetence, neglect as well as poor prioritisation of the Ministry of Works and Transport towards the effective maintenance of major roads in our nation.
In a social media post, Lee said “It is totally appalling and ironic that PTSC, to the detriment of tens of thousands of citizens, was forced to stop such a key service at this hectic time of year due to the failure of its own parent Ministry to undertake its core duty of providing properly maintained roads for the citizens of our nation.
This disgraceful situation is not an isolated one but rather a stark representation of the nationwide dilapidation and abandonment dozens of key roads face under this administration leading to great discomfort and significant problems for citizens.”
“In a year which this Government has blamed all of their shortcomings on COVID-19, there could be no excuse for this occurrence as a mere two months ago over 2.9 billion dollars was allocated for the Ministry of Works and Transport.”
He said “Exactly one year ago on December 29th 2019, the Minister of Works and Transport while speaking to the media promised an “aggressive road repair program”. One year later, issues such as these show these were just baseless promises.”
The “all talk no action” approach by the Ministry of Works and Transport needs to stop.
Lee said thousands of taxpayers are being left stranded, forced to pay higher taxi fares and even pay more to maintain their vehicles due to the poor management as well as lack of Leadership within this Ministry which has failed to effectively prioritise.
He said “As a country we must ask, are some of our roads being neglected due to political victimisation or is it simply a massive abdication of responsibilities and duties to our taxpayers?”
Lee added: How can we be focusing on emerging out of the pandemic successfully when citizens’ ability to access public transportation is being stymied by the lack of proper roads?
How can the Government be promoting the opportunities of their “Road Map to Recovery” when commuters don’t even have proper roads?
The Ministry of Works and Transport needs to shape up for the new year and provide better roads for our citizens in 2021.
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