$4.8M drainage contract sealed by ministry
Region Four Regional Chairman Clement Corlette says in the light of the government’s policy on agriculture and the new ‘Grow more’ campaign “the continued shackle and prohibition of Buxton farmers from accessing their farmlands can no longer be made to stand.”
In a letter dated July 8 to Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud, Corlette offered the Regional Demo-cratic Council’s assistance in facilitating a return of the farmlands to Buxton farmers since the joint services bush clearing exercise in the area concluded over three weeks ago.
On the same day the letter was sent, Persaud met farmers from Buxton/Friendship who received assistance as part of the compensation programme for those affected by the bush clearing and he also referred to a $4.8M drainage project agreed for the area.
Corlette’s letter which was copied to President Bharrat Jagdeo, Opposition Leader Robert Corbin, GDF Chief of Staff, the region’s vice chairman, the local government minister, and the chairmen of the Buxton NDC and the Ethnic Relations Commission said no work involving military personnel is in progress in the Buxton backlands and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Engineer Corps Unit has withdrawn from the Buxton backlands.
It said too large tracts of farmlands have been destroyed by machine activity while cleaning bush over growth; inter lot drains and sucker drains have been destroyed (filled in); debris litters the farmlands and farm lot boundary palls have been destroyed.
The letter also said that access to farmlands for agricultural purposes remain restricted/prohibited; koker and sluices are not in place; large areas of farmlands are still under heavy bush over growth and all the access dams have not been properly graded and shaped. The Chairman also said the GDF Corps Unit bulldozer and excavators have been removed from the area though the work Persaud and other government spokespersons committed to doing is incomplete. Therefore, “It is my considered view that until the outstanding works as listed …above are completed you or your principals cannot disengage from the project without restoring the farmland physical infrastructure to accommodate the efficient and effective use of the said farmlands,” he said.
Corlette also said based on information received a private contractor Colin Talbot, has been contracted to excavate two middle walk canals and the company canal from CNC to the gate and work is set to start soon. He contends that the Buxton farmers have been reduced to abject poverty through no fault of theirs “but by a misguided and misconceived programme that was unleashed by the joint services acting at the behest of [c]entral [g]overnment.” Corlette said it is time that “closure be brought to the unsatisfactory situation surrounding the Buxton farmlands and to empower farmers to work for their own happiness, self-respect and prosperity by their own effort.” The Chairman reminded the minister that during a joint visit to the area on April 26 he had requested a timeframe for returning the land to its tillers and at that time he (Persaud) was unable to give one. Corlette contends that since the dynamics of the area have changed, “occasioned by the poor and inadequate execution of the bush clean up planners and” the minister cannot hold the people of Buxton in such a dismal state while he traverses the regions promoting wealth and national development through agriculture.
Meanwhile, according to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release dated July 9, Buxton/ Friendship farmers who had been given an initial compensation package received an additional sum on the said date. The payment was said to be a part of the Agriculture ministry’s compensation programme for affected farmers. GINA said during a meeting on July 8 with farmers the minister told them of other agricultural interventions that will be put in place to assist them including in the area of drainage and irrigation. After the meeting a contract was signed at the ministry for the cleaning of major drainage canals in the communities.
According to GINA in April, Persaud told farmers from the Pond Dam area that a second phase of verification prior to the disbursement of compensation would be conducted. He said too the farmers’ group within the communities would be contracted to undertake additional land clearing which will be overseen by the Buxton/ Friendship NDC and the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA). Sixteen million dollars are being spent on desilting the pump basin facing the Atlantic Ocean which will enhance drainage. Also, through the NDC, $1M is been spent on the navigation canal. “We are also looking at some intake structures, because that too is important in terms of irrigation,” Persaud said.
GINA also said at the Wednesday meeting Persaud told the farmers that government will spend about $4.8M on drainage and irrigation works in the communities though “we have not determined fully the extent of the cost.” The minister explained that through the farmers committee each farmer will have an opportunity to obtain employment while that exercise is being conducted.
The release said GDF Col Walter Morris, Technical Manager, Buxton compensation fund Justin McKenzie, Technical Manager at the Agriculture ministry John Woolford, Acting CEO at the NDIA Lionel Wordsworth, Chairman of the Farmers Committee Fitzroy Miller and Chairman of the Buxton/ Friendship Chairman R Blair also attended the meeting.
The clearing of the bush in Buxton/Friendship had come after the January 26 killing of 11 people in Lusignan. Residents of Lusignan had called for the bush to be cleared because it provided cover for criminals. A scaled-down version of the de-bushing was later agreed after farmers began to complain about their produce being destroyed.
