SXMElections.com

SUCKER GARDEN--Residents of Chin Cactus Road and Chin Cactus Drive can now enjoy long-awaited and much-needed improvements made to the roads, which had been in a continuous deplorable state that became increasingly frustrating.

One resident recently contacted The Daily Herald in order to show gratitude on behalf of the community to former Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Maurice Lake who he said pushed for the repairs to be done, as well as VROMI Maintenance Department Head Claudius Buncamper and Public Works Project Leader Alfredo Pantophlet who were both said to have kept good lines of communication with them and were always ready to assist when needed.

Buncamper explained to this newspaper that VROMI is now getting ready to take over the project as completed by the contractor, after some minor works are finalised. These are repairs to grills on the drainage collection pit and some cleaning up of debris from the worksite.

Besides that, he said that the drain lines, all road hard-surfacing, driveways to all homes, back-filling and levelling required for the project had been completed. An additional drain through one resident's property to alleviate water coming in from Chin Cactus drive has also been built.

Lake was said to be instrumental in getting the advice approved, and thereby making the project's execution possible.

He told this newspaper that when he came into office, he had a list of projects that he wanted to execute, that this had been part of the Capital Investment Budget for 2014, and that another group of roads had also been prioritised. This was in reference to the street-paving agreement for some 16 streets in various districts, which had been signed in August.

Lake said he commended the developer and contractor for the work, and the residents for their patience. "It's good to see them happy," he added, saying that he made a point of listening to residents in general in his "back to basics" approach.

Now a Member of Parliament, he said he would like to see the work continue throughout the districts, which also creates work for local contractors and young professionals.

Urgency, delays

In late October, residents in the area expressed frustration to this newspaper over the roads' continued deplorable state and called on Lake to honour a promise of "next day" action they said he made during a public meeting in Sucker Garden. They urged immediate attention.

A letter signed by some 22 residents, as well as a copy of a 2012 letter issued by VROMI, told of official complaints filed as far back as 2008 and VROMI's continued stated intentions to address the issue.

They described "...large holes and rocks protruding out, causing constant damage to our vehicles. The road in front of our homes has deteriorated to the extent that we cannot drive on it." They say that they constantly get flat tires and incur other vehicle repair costs."

The letter issued by VROMI in 2012 stated that the Department was not privy to the 2008 and 2009 letters sent to former Infrastructure Commissioner Theo Heyliger.

In an apologetic tone, it acknowledged the problem and stated that the intention was to finalise design plans around October 2012 and keep a public tender to carry out the complete road and drainage works. An estimated time of "no earlier than 2013" was based on the then-present budget situation.

Lake swiftly issued a response to the outcry, saying that he did indeed intend to keep the promise, although there had been delays experienced. He said additional procedures need to be followed, which included presenting the project to the Council of Ministers.

"A promise made is a promise kept," he said, adding that by that time the contractor had already been selected and was busy acquiring the materials needed to execute the over NAf. 484,000 project.