Over the past eight months, the Ministry of Public Works has conducted 47 exercises to remove derelict vehicles from various parts of Regions Three and Four.
These exercises have amounted to a cost of $24.5 million, the Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill noted.
The exercise was conducted between January to September 2024.
“We had 47 different exercises that were mounted and that is the total cost and an exercise don’t mean moving one vehicles, I see somebody commenting saying it is $500,000 to move one vehicle, an exercise means that sometimes you move six or seven, we moved as much as 10 in one exercise so it doesn’t mean one vehicle,” Minister Edghill told the News Room.
According to the Public Works Minister, these exercises will be extended to all other regions in the country.
“Traffic safety is an important thing and we are not just talking about people driving, but people walking, as well as in the case of an emergency and derelicts that are on shoulders that affect the visibility of people getting to turn or to drive [and] encumber the parapets that you cannot get passage if there is an emergency,” Edghill said.
He added: “We are dealing with this issue but it is becoming more and more pronounced and that is why we would have addressed in the way we did, to let people know this is not a here and there issue. If you read some of the comments people are identifying where and where they have vehicles that are derelicts.”
Minister Edghill further noted that the ministry would have issued public notices for persons to remove derelicts. In a notice last year, it was revealed that it is an offence under the Road Act of the Laws of Guyana, Chapter 51:01, to encumber roadways and road reserves.
This is an unsafe practice and poses the risk of accidents and injuries to road users.
