Cabinet on Tuesday approved the formation of a Public Infrastructure Task Force to assess and holistically approach drainage and irrigation reform for the city.
Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson lobbied for the task force that will comprise the entities currently charged with drainage and irrigation as well as members of civil society. Heavy rains on Sunday saw several parts of Guyana flooded including Georgetown, the East Coast and the West Coast.
At a press briefing held at the ministry yesterday, Patterson said that within the next two weeks he will be finalising the Terms of Reference for the task force. He said agencies such as the Guyana Association of Profession-al Engineers (GAPE), the Mayor and City Council (M&CC), the relevant government ministries, and persons such as businessman Stanley Ming will be invited to collaborate. He noted that Ming had spoken extensively on the flooding throughout Guy-ana.
Patterson said “hard social and political decisions,” will need to be made, alluding to the fact that relocation of homesteads had not been ruled out.
The minister said a full mapping of the current drainage and sewerage network in Guyana was necessary groundwork for the task force. He said funding was available, highlighting that various international bodies were already prepared to assist in areas of urban rehabilitation.
When questioned by Stabroek News the minister noted that he would need to seek legal counsel since the various legislation such as the Municipal Act, Sea Defence Act, Public Utilities Act and Georgetown Sewerage and Water Act would need to be “harmonized” so that a multilateral agency could function accordingly.
He said the Task Force was being initiated to “nurse back to health,” the ailing drainage and infrastructure networks of the capital; “it is our baby malnourished, deformed or whatever it is…”
Rehabilitation not solution
While the Task Force logistics are to be worked out as a medium-term initiative, Patterson noted that cabinet also approved $75 million to be used immediately to clear the four major outbound channels at Kingston, Lamaha Street, Sussex Street and Meadowbank.
“I’d like to make it clear to the citizens of Georgetown this is not a solution to our drainage problem this is an attempt for the next four to six weeks to ensure that should there be another period of high rainfall that the time taken to reduce the flooding or get the water out of the city will be reduced,” Patterson warned.
He said that the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and the M&CC were assisting with the cleaning of the Cummings canal and Muneshwers koker site respectively.
Patterson stated that he would not be detailing his staff to find the $500 million that was designated exclusively for Georgetown, from the previous government’s $1 billion ‘Clean-Up My Country’ campaign.
He said that he simply did not know where that money went and how it was spent considering that much of the work that is currently being done in relation to the four major canals with the recently approved $75 million was already supposed to have been completed.
He said all six pumps across the city are now operational, however due to the length of time the Lamaha Street pump was out of commission problems with the pipe work signalled urgent rehabilitation and the NDIA was still doing fabrication work as of yesterday.
Most of the stagnant water had been drained by yesterday, and a few communities were still struggling to remove the last remnants of floodwaters from their homes and businesses.
Engineer and Technical Advisor Walter Willis said that only two of the 13 canals leading to the Demerara River in Georgetown and surrounding areas were still in need of rehabilitation. He noted that Meadowbank and the Lamaha Street outlet continued to need further works.
The ministry will be providing a hotline for residents to call in and report ongoing issues with blockages of secondary and tertiary drains so the MCC, as well as the Force Account Unit of the Ministry and the Ministry of Com-munities can address and clean.
Minister within the Ministry of Public Health Dr Karen Cummings stated that persons dealing with flood-related health issues are free to call the ministry at 227-1316 for assistance.
She was present during the press briefing to give an update on public health care following flooding and to relay to the public that health centres are equipped with the necessary medication and training to prevent the spread of disease.
