-as rainy season nears
Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud on Monday inspected garbage collection and other enhancement works being undertaken by Community Drainage and Irrigation (D&I) workers along the East Coast, in anticipation of the May-June rains.
“We are ensuring that the outlets leading to sluices are cleared, but we have also put on an additional dimension to use the community drainage and irrigation workers from the Community Drainage and Irrigation Programme (CDIP) which was recently restructured under the Agriculture Ministry to support excavation,” Persaud said.
A Government Information Agency (GINA) press release said there are currently over 2,000 community D&I workers countrywide who have been clearing weeds, spraying canals and undertaking other enhancement works. Persaud said these works have been neglected by the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) even though in many instances waste dumped at unofficial sties often ends up in the canals.
In the light of this, the ministry has undertaken this initiative as a preventative measure before the rainy season. Persaud was accompanied by CEO of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Lionel Wordsworth.
Meanwhile, the minister said the process of shifting focus from El Nino has been very taxing, however most farming areas are in the process of harvesting. As such, areas where rice is cultivated have had less need for D&I equipment, which had been deployed to help with irrigation. “The focus had to be shifted very quickly into this type of preparation for the rainy season.
Across the country we will be doing similar work at the inlet of kokers, we also have a second dredging device that will start operating at the end of this week,” he said. Equipment will be deployed to conduct works along the East Coast while one has already been put to work in West Demerara. Similar works are being undertaken along the Essequibo Coast and in Berbice.
The NDIA Board at a recent meeting reiterated that it was vital that all regions take steps that will quickly and effectively ensure that systems are in place before the rains start. “Although we are just coming out of a dry season, we must not be complacent,” Persaud said. He also expressed concern that persons continue to violate the Environmental Protection Act and wantonly dispose of their garbage.
“I want to make a special appeal to the people of Guyana, when you dump garbage in a reckless way, you are ultimately contributing to health risks and flooding,” he said.
The minister said government has spent tremendous amounts of resources on garbage disposal and it is hopeful that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and NDCs strictly enforce the law. He also suggested that persons be penalised for dumping.
GINA said the community project will complement the clean-up drive for the upcoming ICC 20/20 World Cup Cricket, which is undertaking works using the ministry’s resources.
As a result, costs have been significantly reduced. “Ninety-five percent of the work, which will be tested during the rainy season, is being carried out using our own resources, these workers are already on our pay roll and different layers of management are monitoring the project to ensure that we have quality work,” Persaud said. In the light of this, the ministry urges citizens to report cases where they have observed sub-standard work being done or the ministry’s equipment being misused, at hotline numbers: 226-6655 or 227-5049.
