The Ministry of Agriculture’s National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) has criticised the Stabroek News editorial dated October 16, 2023 captioned `Chaos in infrastructure projects’.
The editorial referenced delays at several major pump station projects as evidence of poor preparation and planning on the part of the NDIA and the ministry.
In its statement, the NDIA said that “Notably, there was no acknowledgement of major issues with pump stations by the NDIA as stated in the editorial as the Authority was merely highlighting external issues with its pump station projects. These external issues such as squatting and encumbrances in the construction zone would have caused significant delays to these projects. The editorial ought to be aware that projects generally experience `teething’ problems. The projects under reference in the Editorial are no exception having regard to the several challenges, both legal and illegal within the construction zones”.