Region Six Chairman David Armogan yesterday revealed that Regional Executive Officer (REO) Kim Williams-Stephen has indicated to him that no money is available for badly needed works on dams in the region.
Armogan told a press conference that $117 million was received for drainage and irrigation works in the last budget. However, he is contending that the budget should have been managed properly so as to ensure that there is money available for fixing dams at this time, since it is harvesting season.
He explained that works are usually undertaken on the dams twice a year per crop. “This year, however, things have changed. As you know, farmers have been suffering losses from the paddy bug infestation and now the other big problem is dams because now is harvesting time and if the dams are not in good condition, then it would be almost impossible to bring out their paddy without suffering losses,” he said.
“The region in the past would spend a substantial amount of money, maybe $15 million per crop, to make sure that these dams are in good order. Unfortunately, this year although we had money put in to the budget, we had about $15 million in the budget to do dams this year the REO has said to us that the money under agriculture has completely expired and she has no further money to do the dams,” he added.
According to Armogan, some farmers have begun to “help them self but there is only so much they can do…Now if they have to do dams and hire machines, these additional expenses they would not be able to withstand and the region for the first time has let them down since I am here,” he said.
However, while noting that some $18 million would be needed to properly carry out works on all the necessary dams, Armogan noted, that he has since reached out to the Chief Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority, who has offered to assist with $5 million.
Armogan said, $2.5 million would go towards fixing dams in the Black Bush Polder area, while the remainder would go towards the Number 52-74 area. However, he pointed out that at this time there is no money for the Crabwood Creek and Molsen Creek area. “It is inadequate but we will have to make do with that in this moment,” he said.
Armogan also pointed out, that the last time he sought assistance from the Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder, he was told that rice farmers should have been able to sustain themselves. “I believe that the government is moving in a direction in which at some point they will say to the rice cultivation areas y’all got to take care of yourselves and we are not prepared to take care of that,” he opined.
Armogan added that the government benefits from the production of rice since it is a primary source of foreign exchange “because sugar don’t really bring in anything anymore, so if rice continues to slide and foreign exchange is not available as a result of the export of rice then you can imagine the pressures that are going to be put on the US dollars and that’s the consequence of these kinds of behaviour from the government.”
Meanwhile, when questioned by Stabroek News, Armogan said that REO Williams-Stephen has told them that the money was used for “emergency works.” Stabroek News visited the REO’s office yesterday in order to seek clarity from her, however she was in a meeting.
Armogan however said, that the REO would be asked to prepare a report at tomorrow’s statutory meeting of the regional council so as to clarify exactly what the money was spent on. “The REO should have been able to hold this money and make sure it would have remained to do the dams because it is something we anticipate,” he stressed.
