Fisherfolk during a recent outreach at Highbury, East Bank Berbice informed Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha of issues which are affecting them including massive chunks of grass floating in the Berbice River damaging their equipment.
According to one fisherman, it was agreed between the fishermen and the contractors who are responsible for cutting the grass that 10-feet grass plots would be cut in the Canje Creek.
However, he said that “my agreement with them is that they cut the grass, throw it on a barge and throw it at a low spot because … is a square one we would a end up when stuff come out of the river.”
The fisherman reported that after visiting the Berbice River prior to the meeting it was noticed that the “whole entire Berbice River in grass, the whole entire Berbice River. I don’t know what going on deh, we get some (grass) island coming out from the Canje Creek it could fetch a barge.”
He said some of the grass banks are 20 feet in length. “Fishermen right now are suffering.”
Mustapha in response stated that he will ensure the contractors are met with, explaining that instead of doing two cleanings per year, the contractors were given four “and that means the grass should not have gotten so big if they are maintaining on time.”
According to him, every three months there should have been maintenance carried out with the grass being cut. “So what this comrade raise just now, that it get twenty feet of grass coming out of the Canje Creek, that is absolutely unacceptable”, he said.
He assured that he would “call the contractors, I know them myself because the contract now is being awarded by NDIA (National Drainage and Irrigation Authority) and they have to ensure that they abide with the agreement that they have to cut the grass in smaller chunks and at the same time maintain it more regularly because they are being paid for four cleanings.”
Mustapha reminded that previously the contractors were paid for two cleanings but President Irfaan Ali insisted that they be paid for four so as to ensure that the “thickness of the grass would not be that amount, so we will deal with it.”
Meanwhile, fisherfolk have alleged that waste oil from the new Turkish power ship is being dumped into the river.
“I will talk to the Prime Minister and I will talk to the head of GPL, they should not, it’s unacceptable, they can’t throw oil in the river, they are polluting the river, so we will deal with that”, he assured.
