A proposal to bring immediate relief to the decades-old drainage problems of flood-prone South Georgetown was yesterday unveiled to residents during a multi-agency government outreach.
The proposal was presented to residents by Chairman of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Lionel Wordsworth, days after an impromptu visit by President Irfaan Ali, where he committed to addressing the flooding woes of the communities.
In the plan to alleviate the waterlogged situation, Wordsworth announced that they will be looking to clean and desilt 20 alleyways between North and South Ruimveldt, Georgetown.
The works pegged at just over $40M will be done manually as the area cannot accommodate machinery and the task will be procured in lots.
According to Wordsworth, among the key areas targeted are alleyways in Festival City which has been known be waterlogged for days after a downpour.
“For the area of Festival City, North Ruimveldt which has a link that drains through to Liliendaal pump station, we are currently in the final stage of studies where we are looking at upgrading facilities so we can have added drainage capacity for this area,” he disclosed.
He added that they will be undertaking works to clear the channel that drains the community through the River’s View pump to boost drainage capacity. Recently they completed cleaning works between Cemetery Road and Mandela Avenue.
“We are now deploying the equipment on this side to clean all the way to Cummings Park…”, he added.
During the meeting, several persons raised suggestions and a technical team is expected to return today to the community to consider changes before finalising the proposal.
Shaun Benn, a resident from the area suggested that culverts be installed at major junctions in the community to enhance drainage.
“We have the Aubrey Barker road and all the other connecting roads but there is no connection between the streets. When you come from the roundabout Stevedore there is no connection, there is no culvert. You come to Festival City there is no culvert, all the other streets no connection. The water keeps running round and round and going no place that’s why you can’t have no drainage,” he passionately contended.
“We want you to know if you are doing infrastructure work we want culverts on all the streets. Other-wise, you are just wasting your time paying out money and not adding value to the money,” he said with the support of residents who applauded.
Endemic
Flooding has been endemic in North Ruimveldt, where Festival City technically is, and in South Ruimveldt for more than 20 years. Residents have had to learn to survive with their streets being flooded for days, sometimes weeks, several times a year.
Plans to upgrade the drainage infrastructure by the PPP/C government were first mentioned by Ali in a speech to mark the end of his first year in office in August 2021.
“Planning will commence soon on a massive project to relieve South Georgetown from flooding with the construction of a new drainage system and other infrastructure to facilitate this, while at the same time other areas of the city will also benefit from significant investment to mitigate against flooding and enhanced infrastructure,” the Head of State announced then.
While residents welcomed the much needed intervention, questions were raised as to why the Government is aiming to bypass the city council in the process.
Benn took a jab at the government and accused it of blatantly bypassing the elected council to impose their plan and undermine the councillors.
He said that residents voted and elected persons in council to represent their rights and interest but with government intervention that is not being done.
“We are demanding that the government treat the City Council with the respect that it deserves. That it bestow upon them the deserved subvention so that they can do the work they were elected to do… We have to stop playing politics because it is getting us nowhere, it is ripping the country apart,” Benn declared to continuous applause from his fellow residents.
He told the high-level team which included Ministers of Housing and Water Colin Croal and Susan Rodrigues, Public Works Juan Edghill and Deodat Indar, Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha, Minister of Local Government Nigel Dharmalall and Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson, that the government’s treatment of the City Council is a far cry from its One Guyana initiative which was created to promote unity and equal treatment among Guyanese.
“What Central Government is attempting to do is as a result of the failure of the City Council”, Edghill said as he sought to fend off the allegation. But the residents rebutted, objecting to the claim and Benn loudly called for the money to be handed over to the city council to execute the works.
“Give them the resources and let them start… you are throwing away money…” Benn declared as he shouted “good governance!” in response to the justification from government.
Mustapha had boasted that residents of North and South Ruimveldt would soon see “an end” to their flooding woes. He stated that the NDIA was currently carrying out work worth $27.8 million on the main drainage sluice in the area
Residents also demanded that labour be hired from their communities instead of people being brought into the community. The residents said that they have the labour available and are willing to work along with the project coordinators to engage in desilting and clearing works.
Mustapha agreed and said that they are willing to work with the residents and have them execute the necessary work. He however said that those who plan to bid for the contracts have to be fully registered as a business operating in Guyana.
“There is a general consensus that yes works are needed to be done in these areas. Now however it can be done, we will not bring people from outside the community to do the work, we will work with you the residents,” he assured to applause and affirmation from the residents.
Mustapha added that once the work is done to standard they will look at implementing a maintenance contract to prevent blockages of key drains and alleyways.
Edghill stated that while it will require billions to completely overhaul the drainage system they will be executing works in phases. He said too that they are looking at both long term and short term plans to bring relief to residents.
Touching on criticism of patch work along the roadway, Edghill pointed out that they will have to continue with that until they are able to fix the drainage system to prevent waterlogging.
On this note, he disclosed that they will be executing road upgrade works in some sections of South Ruimveldt Gardens.
Apart from the issue of drainage, residents utilized the opportunity to raise issues such as the need for upgrading of recreational grounds, revitalisation of community policing groups and housing allocations.
Those with housing concerns were asked to give their names and information and were promised that the housing ministry will work to resolve their concerns.
A majority of the gathering flocked officers from the Central Housing and Planning Authority after they were asked to provide their information.
The drainage map of North and South Ruimvedlt
