Opposition MP Khadijah Ameen is calling on the Ministry of Works and Transport to conduct the necessary consultations with the residents who will be affected by the Macoya Interchange for the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway.

In a statement, MP Ameen said that further consultations are needed which she is willing to facilitate with the Minister of Works, Rohan Sinanan.

“He stated that with this move, there is likely to be less acquisition of properties to facilitate the construction process and there will be less disruption. However, there has been no consultation process with these residents or with the elected MP for this area.

Consultations must be conducted with the residents as they will be directly affected by this interchange; the residents, their MP, and the construction team must be able to identify their concerns. The said persons must strategically decide on an acceptable and agreeable plan of action,” the statement further stated.

She added: “It is fundamentally undemocratic for a multimillion-dollar project to be planned without having some form of dialogue or consultation with the residents who will be directly affected by the planned Macoya Interchange Project. These residents will be forcibly uprooted and relocated from their homes. These residents are not voiceless or mute, and deserve the opportunity for their concerns to be heard and addressed.”