–Benn
Amid concerns about the durability of sea defence structures, Transport and Hydraulics Minister Robeson Benn said the Sea Defence Unit’s work is on target and though it may never be able to afford rehabilitation at the level the public perceives it is acquiring equipment to boost efficiency.
During a recent interview with Stabroek News Benn said the public should not always view over-topping as ‘critical’. Referring to the over-topping which affected East Coast communities Vryheid’s Lust, Montrose and Better Hope, the minister said the sea defence structures sustained some damage, but the high waves were due to a combination of weather events across several Caribbean countries and the usual spring tide.
The over-topping had caused flooding in drains, yards and along streets close to the sea wall. It also caused significant damage to the embankment behind the wall. The Public Works Ministry and the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority were forced to break open drains, bridges and other structures residents had built on several sections of the government’s reserves. The water then flowed freely from the communities and receded a few days later.
Benn said the major rehabilitation works to the embankment have also been completed “but we will never be able to afford rehabilitation at the level the public perceives.”
The minister acknowledged too that there were some problems “here and there” countrywide and some structures have deteriorated, but said work was being done within the ministry’s resources. “Where work is being done we have to make it more efficient,” he said, adding that efforts were being made to obtain some equipment to boost efficiency.
Meanwhile, the minister said, the Sea Defence Unit was being merged with the work services group to get engineering optimisation and synergies between the two. “So in terms of the number of engineers as well as the number of tasks, there would be benefits as well as the fact that the two can share resources. And they both can keep their eyes out in both areas,” he said.
Benn also said every effort was being made to ensure that no breaches occurred, particularly in the agricultural areas. “We are doing our best to protect the housing areas but more particularly agricultural areas especially with the whole issue of food security. We have to ensure this so that rice or sugarcane field would not be flooded because we don’t want anything to affect our ability to deliver food,” he said.
The acting project manager attached to the unit told Stabroek News that so far major rehabilitation works on sea defence structures in Tuschen, Hague, Deskendren and Blankenburg, West Coast Demerara and at Capoey and Colombia in Region Two were completed last month from a European Union $3B fund. He said there was still some tidying up to be done. Also, under a Caribbean Development Bank Sea Defence Project rehabilitative works have been conducted on structures at Belladrum and Profit/Foulis, West Coast Berbice to the tune of $1B.
