Lumber sector: “Government responsible for road maintenance”

Representatives of the lumber sector recently pointed out that “the government is responsible for road maintenance, bridge maintenance and the inspection of trucks.” The representatives deem it unfair for the government to hold the lumber sector accountable for the problems regarding the heavy transports on the country’s roads.

They claim that they in fact stick to the traffic rules and regulations.

The General Surinamese Lumber Union, the Platform Lumber Sector and the Association of Hinterland Lumber Producers on Thursday issued a statement in response to the measures that are being taken by the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communication (OWT&C) in the wake of several incidents involving heavy transports. Several weeks ago trucks rammed the Saron Bridge and the Jules Wijdenbosch Bridge on separate occasions.

The bridge across the Falawatra Creek which is located along the road to Apoera also collapsed as a result of a heavy truck. After a series of incidents made headlines and caused thousands of Surinamese dollars in damage the ministry decided to beef up the inspections of heavy transports. The representatives pointed out that they can relate to the ministry’s decision but that they deem it unfair that the lumber sector is the only one being blamed. They pointed out that trucks also transport other things such as sand, oil and gravel.

Transporting wood logs along roads is inevitable because most of the nation’s sawmills and harbors are located in Paramaribo. The representatives explained that transporting lumber by water is limited because many sections of the nation’s rivers are too shallow. They also explained that the Saramacca Channel must be dredged. They also pointed out that several landing wharfs are in a pretty bad shape.

The representatives are urging the government to address these issues seriously and to look for longlasting solutions with the help of the sectors that are dependent on the nation’s roads. “It is the Surinamese economy’s best interest that these sectors remain upand-running.”