NEWS
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
GCAA Board will be Tiger Creek bridge to be New no rubber stamp - Edghill repaired within 3 weeks … will play critical role in aviation sector T he Public Works Ministry has crafted a three-week timeline for completion of emergency works on the Tiger Creek bridge in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) Region Eight Engineer Wendell St Pierre made this disclosure on Wednesday following an on-site assessment, the Department of Public Information has reported. “Works…have already started. The contractor is Abeja Trotman, and materials are being mobilised,” the engineer is quoted as saying. From his preliminary assessment, St Pierre said, the bridge appears to have collapsed because it had a damaged beam. Commuters can use an alternative route to Mahdia while there are ongoing
emergency works at Tiger Creek, he noted. That route spans an additional 28 ki-
The GCAA Board. Seated are Chairman of the Board Javed Shadick and Public Works Minister Juan Edghill. From left, Prema Roopnarine, Jerome Khan, GCAA Director General Egbert Field, Lt Colonel Courtney Byrne, Ramesh Seebarran and Beulah Williams (GCAA photo)
T
The collapsed bridge
lometres, and extends from the Konawaruk Road into Eagle Mountain Road, then
into Mahdia. This, St Pierre said, is a temporary inconvenience for commuters
while the bridge undergoes reconstruction. On the issue of safety, the engineer advised that motorists should use the alternative route and take no chances crossing Tiger Creek during the emergency works. This is to avoid accidents and loss of property. The DPI report stated that the Public Works Ministry is providing technical assistance on the project, while the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission is tasked with executing the repairs. Meanwhile, the Guyana Police Force reported that at about 12:45h on Tuesday, the bridge - 75ft in length and 18ft in width, which runs in an east-towest direction - collapsed with motor lorry GYY 2075. The driver, Police said, was alone in the vehicle and the lorry was empty. No one was injured.
he Government has appointed a new Board of Directors for the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority. It has charged the members of this board not to be rubber stamps, but rather to use their diverse technical expertise and experiences to expand and improve Guyana’s aviation capabilities. In a ceremony held at the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority boardroom earlier today, the members of the new board were installed. In his remarks to the new board, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill made it clear that Government does not want a board of rubber stamps. Rather, he noted the importance of them playing a key role in making decisions at GCAA. “You are a board that must be able to sit, discuss, debate, ask the hard questions, do the due diligence, get to the bottom of issues, then you make your recom-
mendations for the necessary actions. By no means would I like you to be a board that is a rubber stamp. I want you to be a board that is heavily and aggressively involved. “That’s why you were carefully chosen - people of skill, competence, experience. And we’re asking you to be nationalists and patriots. Be a set of eyes and minds that are looking out for the good of Guyana and ensuring that this sector is properly managed and governed,” Edghill said. Meanwhile, Director General of the GCAA, Lieutenant Colonel Egbert Field, reminded the board of his availability and noted that they would get his full support and expertise when called upon. In addition, he would depend on the board to guide him in certain areas. “The Civil Aviation Authority, we are regulators, but we are also facil-
itators. And, Honourable Minister, you can rest assured we will be working with the industry, as we have been doing, so that safety and security remains the number one item for us as we move forward. “I’m a consummate professional, and I have been moving in the direction of ensuring that this authority and the aviation industry, this economy, continues to increase and build in a way the authority can assist,” Fields informed the board. Chairing the board is Attorney-at-Law Javed Shadick. Also on the board is well known lawyer Jerome Khan and Ramesh Seebarran. Also on the board is Prema Roopnarine, Beulah Williams, CJIA CEO Ramesh Ghir and army representative Lieutenant Colonel Courtney Byrne. Public Works Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Vladim Persaud is an ex-officio member of the board. (G3)
