“No Road, No Vote”: Nabacalis residents protest conditions

“This is a long time crying. When I say crying, we crying long. Senior citizens, little children, pregnant mothers, taxi can’t get it, you can’t get out with taxi. We fed up, we fed up. The Budget pass, government say that you won’t get money house to house. we fed up, we fed up. But like we said, okay, we need development in we village and that’s all we asking for.” These were the views of a Nabacalis resident holding two placards on the community’s public road, in protest against the conditions of the road.

The community has not had any meaningful infrastructural development by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government since taking office on August 2, 2020. Residents are quick to point out that the neighboring communities of Cove and John, and Enmore, which traditionally vote PPP, have had a different fate with roads being done throughout.

Another resident who said she “born and grow” in Nabacalis said she has never seen the road in such a bad state as it is now. “This road is so bad. This road is sickening. When I’m leaving home to go out like church, funeral, you can’t dress completely at home. You have, I have to completely dress in a minibus by putting on my shoe, I have to put on a slipper to come out of, because of the. You know, and that is so bad. My children now when they’re getting out to school, when you see rainfall, they have to put plastic bag on their boots,” she lamented.

Residents are inviting President Irfaan Ali and the Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill to the community to see for themselves the hardship under which exist three National Budgets later. Last Monday in the reading of the 2023 National Budget the PPP proposed an increase of $40.4B to continue building and maintaining of the country’s roads and bridges. Last year, the government expended $95.7B on infrastructural projects. This year the administration is proposing $136.1B. The residents of Nabacalis are hoping some of this money finds its way into their community and into improved roads.