A dusty, bumpy trace from Sinanan

THE EDITOR: It behoves me to once again chastise the Minister of (Bad) Works and (Poor) Transport. This time it's in relation to the replacement trace/backyard trail which connects Manzanilla to Mayaro.

As we know, this trace is an interim measure, since the road was washed away in 2022 by the might of the rains in the Nariva Swamp. Indeed, when nature calls, you don't stand a chance.

But I honestly hoped for better for the millions spent. As it were, Minister Rohan Sinanan, going by the PNM political playbook, walked with an entourage of public servants – director of this and director of that – to talk and talk and talk, to load up the public with technical, engineering babble.

And as they disappear back into their offices in Port of Spain, the farmers and vendors with their vanloads of melon, canteloupe and other market produce travel snail-slow on a dusty, stony, bumpy trace.

Years ago when Suruj Rambachan achieved the Herculean task of reinstating this same stretch of road within days, after a similar flood, the PNM said it was bad work, it was corruption and the public believed it. Now they have a forest track. I hope their Ford Rangers and NP300s are handling it well – motion sickness and all.

Just imagine millions of dollars being spent to fix roads that don't need fixing and paving bumps and cracks, but right there at the National Library corner, the road is dug out.

And I am sure both the minister and the Port of Spain mayor hear the sound of cars flipping the iron cover over the hole at the corner of Edward Street and Independence Square and yet nothing is being done.

Well done, minister. Keep up the (bad?) good work.

LINDA S CAPILDEO

St James