KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – Residents of North Leeward are “suffering” because petrol is no longer sold at the service station in Chateaubelair, area representative Roland Matthews said on radio yesterday.
“It is almost chaotic. People are frustrated,” he said in appealing to the government and fuel supplier Sol to look into the situation.
I-Witness News became aware of the situation early this month and has been trying to ascertain why fuel is no longer sold in the North Leeward town.
Request for information from fuel suppliers here have so far gone unanswered.
However, a resident of the constituency told I-Witness News that the fuel truck might have stopped travelling to North Leeward because of the condition of a section of the road.
Matthews referred to the same portion of road yesterday.
“The point is, we are suffering as a result of not being able to access gas at the station in Chateaubelair,” he said, noting that the nearest fuel station is in Buccament.
“So, I am appealing to the government, let them talk to Sol, because little me have no power. I can only voice what the people are telling me, voice the concern of my constituents as I am doing now,” he said.
“So I am appealing as well to Sol as the government to do what they have to do so that the problem, as it relates to the road in Charles Village be dealt with and let the gas truck come down back to leeward and supply the gas station down there with gasoline,” Matthews further stated.
“I hope that somebody from within those quarters are listening and that they will realise the situation that we are having right now,” he said.
Matthews, who is the opposition New Democratic Party’s shadow minister for agriculture and fisheries, motorists and fisher folk are affected.
“… if a man … charge EC$10 a pound for his fish, you can’t vex with him because his expense has gone up. … Because from Chateaubelair to Buccament is about the same distance as if you are going north to fish,” he said.