PORT KAITUMA, REGION ONE – What was supposed to be a gleaming new lifeline for this remote river town has instead become a rotting monument to political failure. Nearly two years after the Port Kaituma Wharf was declared 60 percent complete, a major section has collapsed into the river — leaving residents without the promised facility and with fresh questions about where their $1.4 billion really went.
On Thursday, APNU Coalition Prime Ministerial Candidate Juretha Fernandes stood on the crumbling edge of the project and didn’t mince words. “This is a textbook example of how incompetence and cronyism rob communities of much-needed resources,” she told a small crowd, pointing to twisted rebar and broken concrete where a docking platform should have been.
The wharf was meant to be a game-changer. Upgraded to accommodate the MV Ma Lisha, a $2.5 billion ferry launched to connect the North West District, the facility was supposed to be ready by November 2023 — just in time for the Christmas season. Public Works Minister Juan Edghill had publicly promised residents a modern stelling capable of handling more passengers and cargo with ease.
But despite supplementary budget allocations, the project stalled. Now, instead of ferrying prosperity, the wharf is ferrying frustration.Fernandes, an economist by profession, accused the PPP government of funnelling lucrative contracts to “friends, family, and favourites” without proper oversight, resulting in waste and shoddy work.
“The money lost here could have gone directly into easing the crushing cost of living in Port Kaituma, where families are struggling to afford even basic goods,” she said.For many locals, the half-built structure is more than an eyesore — it’s a daily reminder of broken promises. Boat operators say they’ve had to improvise with unsafe loading points.
Vendors complain that without a functioning wharf, freight delays keep prices high and shelves half-empty. “Every rainy season, we watch it fall apart a little more,” said one resident, shaking his head at the jagged edge where concrete meets water. “It’s not just a wharf that collapsed. It’s trust.”
Fernandes pledged that under an APNU-led government, strict procurement rules, technical audits, and tough accountability measures would ensure projects are finished on time, on budget, and to proper standards.
“People in Port Kaituma deserve a wharf, not a monument to failed governance,” she said — a line that drew nods and murmurs of agreement from the crowd.
For Port Kaituma, the question now isn’t just when the wharf will be rebuilt, but whether the promises attached to it will finally be kept.
