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Works on the slip lanes that built along the Heroes Highway on the East Bank Demerara (EBD) to facilitate traffic coming from and going onto the Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge are almost completed. This is according to Housing Minister Collin Croal, who recently told Guyana Times that the construction phase is completed. The remaining works, he explained, include the installation of the metal barriers along the newly built lane between the bridge roundabout and the Haags Bosch Road also called the Eccles Dumpsite Road. “We near finish with the slip lane. The contractor is now putting in the protective barriers,” Croal stated, adding that these works will take about another week. Already, the metal barriers have been installed from the Eccles end of the western ‘slip lane’ that runs from the Demerara River Bridge access road to the Haags Bosch Road. When completed this lane will facilitate traffic coming off from the bridge and taking it directly onto the Haags Bosch Road which connects to the East Bank Public Road. On the eastern side of the Heroes Highway, the additional lane has already been completed and opened up for public use, adding a third lane to accommodate traffic from the Eccles Roundabout to the roundabout at the Demerara River Bridge access road.
This road extension project was executed in five construction lots: Lot One – 500 metres, Lot Two – 350 metres, Lot Three – 480 metres, Lot Four – 750 metres, and Lot Five – 710 metres, with each lot being constructed by different contractors. Works under the project included asphalt pavement construction, the building of concrete drainage structures, installation of metal guardrails and road markings. During a site inspection back in February, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Housing Ministry Dr Martin Pertab, had underscored the increasing importance of the highway, particularly with traffic flow from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) via the Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge. “The Heroes Highway has become one of the busiest corridors on the East Bank, and it is critical that traffic, especially vehicles coming from Region Three on the Bharrat Jagdeo River Bridge, moves efficiently” Dr Pertab had noted.
The roadway also serves as a key link for commuters travelling along the Ogle to Eccles Highway, which connects the East Coast and East Bank Demerara (EBD) corridors. Since the opening of the new Demerara River Bridge in October 2025, traffic along with Heroes Highway has significantly increased. To minimise disruption to commuters and unnecessary delays, the Government has been working on establishing a new connector road linking Providence, EBD, to the Ogle–Eccles Highway. This aims to minimise the disruption to commuters and unnecessary delays. “What has been happening at the backlands that people don’t see is that from where the road from Ogles to Eccles was built – it stopped – we are continuing the road to Providence so that there can be a smooth connection from that highway to [Heroes] Highway,” Public Works Minister Juan Edghill had previously explained. He had noted that the technical teams were looking at the alignment from the Ogle-Eccles Highway to come out onto the Heroes Highway, which is about a two-kilometre (km) stretch of road that would have to be built.
The Government has engaged Ashoka Buildcon – the Indian company that constructed the Ogle-Eccles bypass road – to build this new access road.

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The construction of the new Lethem Regional Hospital is progressing as the Government moves to expand access to specialised healthcare services for residents of Region Nine. Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony on Sunday said he visited the construction site on Saturday, accompanied by Minister within the Local Government Ministry, Pauline Sukhai; Public Service, Government Efficiency & Implementation Ministry, Zulfikar Ally, Regional Chairperson Vania Albert and Regional Executive Officer (REO) Karl Singh. According to Anthony, the officials reviewed the progress of the project, which is expected to provide a wider range of medical services within the Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo). “Healthcare is rising in the Rupununi,” Anthony said in a social media post. He said the new facility will provide expanded emergency care, surgery, modern diagnostic services, maternal and child healthcare and specialist services, reducing the need for residents to travel outside the region for treatment.
“Distance should never determine the quality of healthcare you receive. The new Lethem Regional Hospital will change that,” Anthony said. The $6.5 billion hospital project was officially launched in October 2024, when President Dr Irfaan Ali turned the sod for the facility. At the time, Ali said the hospital would provide Region Nine residents with healthcare services comparable to those available on the coast and reduce the need for patients to travel out of the region to access specialised treatment. The hospital is planned to include two fully functioning operating theatres and a modern emergency department with a procedure room for minor surgeries. Its diagnostic services are expected to include digital X-ray, portable X-ray, a CT scanner and three ultrasound machines. The facility will also provide laboratory services, specialised outpatient clinics, pharmacy services and two dialysis chairs. Additional features announced for the facility include a digital health control room, paediatric unit, intensive care unit (ICU) and maternity wing.
The project forms part of the Government’s wider investment in strengthening the country’s healthcare infrastructure, particularly in regions where residents have historically had to travel to the coast for specialised services.
At the 2024 sod-turning ceremony, Ali also highlighted plans to work with international partners to address the backlog of cardiac surgeries in Guyana, beginning with paediatric cardiac procedures. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has also been supporting the expansion of Guyana’s healthcare network. IDB Country Representative Lorena Solórzano Salazar, who attended the 2024 ceremony, expressed support for the Government’s healthcare initiatives.
The IDB is financing hospital construction and other healthcare infrastructure across Guyana through a US$97 million loan aimed at strengthening the national health network.

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Fidel would’ve turned 100 last Thursday and Cuba marked the occasion with the kinda revolutionary spectacle Fidel had turned into a fine art – speeches, conferences, exhibitions, cultural performances and a gathering of international admirers!! More than 1,500 foreign delegates – including one Guyanese ex-president!! – trekked to Havana to celebrate the man who once made the small Caribbean island a world phenomenon!!
Your Eyewitness thinks there’s something uniquely Cuban about celebrating the centenary of a revolutionary leader – while the revolution’s economic model’s running out of electricity!! Blackouts can last for 20 hours daily; fuel, food and medicines are scarce; infrastructure has deteriorated; and emigration – now permitted! – has become the main safety valve for young people who’re more interested in leaving than studying the collected thoughts of Fidel Castro!!
The question for your Eyewitness ain’t whether Castro accomplished things – of course he did!! His Revolution destroyed the corrupt Batista order; achieved impressive gains in literacy, education and public health!! His internationalism – from Africa to Guyana – gave Cuba an outsized moral and geopolitical reach!! And the American role can’t be airbrushed from the story – their sanctions were hardly calculated to encourage Cuba’s experiment in political pluralism or economic reform!!
But that’s where the rose-coloured version of the Castro story begins to blur!! Castro defeated a corrupt and authoritarian order – only to construct a system in which state power coalesced around one leader – Fidel!! His personal control over government meant that “central planning” was just an extension of his idiosyncrasies!! So ironically, starting as a man who’d liberate Cuba from one-man dictatorship, he created a political system where political power and his own authority became indistinguishable!!
And tragically the revolution proved much better at surviving Fidel than at reforming Fidelism!! While his brother and successor Raúl eventually introduced economic reforms, the political system remained essentially intact!! The promised transition from revolutionary charisma to functioning institutions never quite arrived and Cuba exchanged one Castro for a committee – which aren’t even charismatic!!
A 2017 assessment of Cuba’s “coming” transition identified their central dilemma: the revolutionary model had to change if it was gonna survive. Nearly a decade later, that verdict looks less like an observation than an indictment – as Cubans have been voting with their feet!! Now while we can’t ignore the US continued pressures, we gotta accept that Cuba’s predicament’s a mixture of external punishment and INTERNAL failure!!
But finally, the revolution ironically is borrowing from the system it spent decades denouncing!! But historical inertia is unlikely to be accommodating to its overthrow, so as Pressie’s done – we gotta encourage democratic change!!
At 100, Castro remains larger than Cuba – and the question’s whether it can finally become larger than Castro!!

…Barima salvage bids
The Government’s receipt of Expressions of Interest for salvaging the MV Barima ain’t gonna end the Opposition’s exploitation of the disaster. In fact, your Eyewitness confidently predicts that WHATEVER the Government does next simply gonna become the next point of attack!! The Opposition had demanded the wreck be recovered urgently; but now Government’s kick-started the process, they complain the process is too slow, too secretive, too bureaucratic – and deviously deliberately designed to thwart the investigation!!
And when the wreck’s eventually raised, be assured the political goalposts gonna be moved again: who got the contract – and why; how much was paid and was the recovery conducted properly etc!! The already-established CoI’s already hasn’t escaped similar nitpicking!!.
Now, your Eyewitness accepts the tragedy demands answers, accountability and respect for the victims. But there’s a difference between demanding those things and converting every stage of the process into a permanent political sideshow!!
So, there’s simply never gonna be no government action capable of satisfying them – cause political dissatisfaction, rather than closure for the families, is the Opposition’s point!!

…power needs
Your Eyewitness has noted – with dismay!! – the call for husbanding AC’s usage since we’ve reached our peak electricity delivery capacity!! That all Europe’s already made that call is of little comfort!!

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A 63-year-old minibus driver died after the vehicle he was driving crashed into a utility pole on the Columbia Public Road, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) Saturday night. Dead is Felix Thorman of Lot 187 Dartmouth, Essequibo Coast. Police said the fatal accident occurred at about 23:38h on August 15, involving minibus PRR 2323, owned and driven by Thorman.

According to police, investigations revealed that Thorman was driving north along the western lane at a fast rate of speed when he lost control of the minibus. The vehicle subsequently collided with a utility pole located on the eastern grass parapet. Thorman was removed from the minibus in an unconscious condition by members of the public and transported to the Lima Regional Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The minibus was taken to the Anna Regina Police Station, where it was lodged for examination. Police are continuing their investigation.

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…says “deceit” within PNC ranks made decision to switch support easier

Current A Partnership for National Unity/Neighbourhood Democratic Council (APNU/NDC) Councillor Trevon Chichester said his decision to support the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) was made following what he described as the “revelation of deceit” within the People’s National Congress (PNC). Chichester, in a social media post on Friday, said he was not promised any position or benefit in exchange for his decision and rejected suggestions that his move was motivated by political power or personal gain.
“For the record, I was not promised anything, not even a Beharry Bullet,” Chichester said. “I made a choice, one that was made easy after the revelation of deceit.” He said he had come to the realisation that the “monster” he had been told existed within the Government was, in his view, present within the ranks of the PNC. Chichester said his decision was based on his commitment to his community and country, arguing that if he had been motivated by power or position, he would have remained in the PNC and worked harder within the party. Instead, he said, he chose to devote his efforts to helping his community and directing residents to Government programmes and services from which they could benefit. “I have chosen to support the PPP/C with vigor and total commitment,” he said. Chichester also criticised opposition politicians who he claimed, publicly condemn the Government while benefiting from opportunities and services available under the current administration. According to Chichester, the Government has been providing opportunities for Guyanese to improve their circumstances, while he acknowledged that such opportunities do not guarantee immediate wealth. “No, you won’t turn a millionaire overnight. No, you may not get a house plus land right away, but you can get the money and technical support to build a business and run it successfully,” he said. He also compared the record of the PPP/C with that of the APNU+AFC (Alliance For Change) administration between 2015 and 2020, questioning how much of the promises made by both political groupings had been fulfilled.
Chichester recalled former President David Granger stating that his administration could not fulfil certain commitments because it did not have the money. He specifically pointed to the absence of free University of Guyana (UG) tuition during the APNU+AFC administration and argued that more could have been done in areas such as road construction. Chichester also raised the issue of flooding at Highdam, saying the area was affected by salt water despite warnings that had been issued more than a month earlier. He claimed he had personally investigated the situation, documented it through photographs and videos and raised concerns at the time.

PPP’s stronger presence in communities
In contrast, Chichester said the PPP/C has maintained a stronger presence in communities and has placed greater emphasis on grassroots engagement. He urged Guyanese to take responsibility for their own lives and future while making use of the opportunities available through Government programmes. “Guyanese need to remember one thing: they are responsible for their own lives and future,” he said.
Chichester’s comments come days after a group of former and current opposition-aligned figures met with PPP/C General Secretary (GS) and Vice President (VP) Dr Bharrat Jagdeo and expressed support for the governing party’s policies and development agenda. Former APNU Member of Parliament (MP), Ricky Ramsaroop said in a social media post on August 12 that he, Ravoldo Birbal and a group of young Guyanese, including Chichester and former PNC and AFC members, had met with Jagdeo. Ramsaroop said those present expressed a desire to work with the Government and contribute to the development of their communities and the country. Also identified as attending were former PNC members Ewart Nacimento and Damion Dummett, and former AFC members Nicketa Ward, Abigail Rodney and Damion James, among others. Chichester’s latest comments also follow the engagement between former PNCR activist and Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) Councillor Robert Wayne Maison and Jagdeo. Guyana Times reported on Saturday that Maison had met with Jagdeo and discussed working with the governing party and contributing to the development of Georgetown and Guyana. Maison left the PNCR in September 2025 after decades of involvement with the party but retained his elected position as a councillor for Constituency Seven, Stabroek-Bourda. Neither Chichester nor the other individuals who participated in the August 12 meeting have been identified in the information provided as having formally joined the PPP/C. However, Chichester has now publicly stated that he intends to support the governing party and its policies. In his post he called for greater cooperation among Guyanese, while maintaining that citizens should speak out against injustice and poor representation where they exist.
“Greatness is founded by working together,” Chichester said, urging Guyanese to support national development and make use of Government services and programmes available to them.

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