President Bharrat Jagdeo said he does not foresee a major drying out of flood-affected areas until the weather pattern changes, and according to him an average of some five inches of rainfall is expected over the next few days.
Issues of drainage and functioning pumps across the country remain high on the agenda, Jagdeo said, adding that government intends to stay “on top of the situation”. He told reporters at a press briefing at State House yesterday that the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) has been closely monitoring the situation and is ready in the event of any emergency.
Close to 50 pumps are in operation on the East Coast Demerara and a number of flood excavators are also in use, but according to the President, there is a limit as to how much water they can get off the land. He pointed to the areas south of the embankment between Enmore and Melanie Damishana, noting that residents there are among the most affected.
The Head of State, who is just back from several overseas engagements, said he was in touch with the relevant agencies during his time away, and received daily briefings from key persons on the ground such as Agricultural Minister Robert Persaud.
Jagdeo said that the administration is particularly concerned about the discomfort Guyanese in the affected areas are facing right now, adding that the health of those persons has been singled out as a priority area.
“… The issues raised by PNCR this week as it concerns the health of those persons are already being tackled by the administration, which means that their statement came late,” Jagdeo said.
He reiterated his call that drainage in the city should no longer be under City Council’s management, pointing to the Liliendaal pump, which he said has deteriorated to the point where some 30 percent of water is escaping through a gaping hole in it. Further, he said the Kitty pump, at best works intermittently. But according to the President, he is not inclined to get into a “war of words” with the City Council.
Overseas engagements
The President said that the discussions at the Caricom-Cuba summit were excellent, adding that he felt all of Caricom was appreciative of the support from Cuba, particularly in the areas of education and health. He noted that Cuba is playing a significant role in the development of many countries at the regional level, particularly in the building of human resource capacity. He reiterated the call for an end to the embargo on Cuba, adding that Cubans need to benefit from a full integration with the rest of the world.
While in Poland, the President said, he had bilateral meetings with the French, Japanese and Norwegians, which all went well. Jagdeo said Guyana’s proposal paper for avoided deforestation was well received, noting that the country’s case was significantly advanced.
The expectations in Poland were so low that they were met, according to him. He said the United Nations conference did not set a goal of negotiating issues of substance since it was mainly process issues. However, he stated that the absence of the US in the form of its president-elect, Barack Obama and his team in a formal capacity, in addition to the issues surrounding the Europeans and their aim for emission cuts by 2020, all served to overshadow the conference.
But he emphasised that Guyana made significant progress, particularly as it relates to understanding the role of the forest in the climate change issues. Jagdeo said there is an understanding now that countries have to include conservation and avoided deforestation in their strategies, and that adaptation is also important for countries like Guyana since it is now recognized that there can be no sustainable climate change agreement without substance policies for adaptation.
In Brazil, Jagdeo said he was part of all four organised summits — the Southern Cone (MERCOSUR), the Rio Group and the South American Union (UNASUR), within the framework of the overarching Latin American and Caribbean Integration and Development Summit. He noted that Guyana is an associate member of MERCOSUR.
According to him, one of the more important issues that came out of the summits is the need to craft a regional response that will take account of the peculiarities of the various countries. He said it was agreed that a working group would be established to advance this.
Continuing challenges
He said Guyana will end the year with a GDP growth around three per cent, which is favourable, noting that the country has seen an increase in rice and gold production while bauxite will remain steady. The inflation rate this year is likely to be close to the target set out earlier this year, Jagdeo said, but pointed out that the Finance Minister will soon pronounce on this.
Jagdeo asserted that next year the global economic meltdown will have more of an impact on the country, noting that the administration is looking at how it can accommodate this impact as it crafts the budget for 2009.
He said the aim would be to avoid creating a situation that builds up inflationary pressure that impact on the country’s exchange rate, noting that the administration is very conscious of this.
