Government to assist Mahaica, Mahaicony farmers
- Assessment of losses starts tomorrow
Georgetown, GINA, February 12, 2005
Farmers who lost their crops and livestock in the flood at Mahaica and Mahaicony are assured of Government’s assistance to restart productivity.
President Bharrat Jagdeo, during visits to communities in both areas on February 12, told residents that an assessment will be conducted and after the floods, residents will be given help to replant and restart livestock rearing.
Minister of Agriculture (ag) Satyadeow Sawh will return tomorrow to the areas with a team from the Ministry of Agriculture and officials of the Regional Administration to meet farmers and ascertain their losses.
He noted that farmers will not be given financial, but rather, material assistance.
“I have asked that an assessment be conducted of people’s losses because I know some people lost everything. We will give people fertilizers and seeds and probably livestock to restart their livelihood,” President Jagdeo said at Mahaica Creek.
He told farmers of both creeks to form two separate groups and organize the meeting with the Government officials at a public building, preferably the school. He noted that the assessment must be done in public so that farmers can verify each other’s losses. This he says will eliminate discrepancies in the assessments, where some farmers who lost little may claim much or others who lost much may not receive sufficient assistance to restart
“We have already started setting aside funds to help with the rebuilding and recovery efforts,’ the President said to farmers at Gordon Table, Mahaicony Creek, ‘so you do not have to fear, Government will assist you.”
The farmers lost almost all their produce, both cash crops and rice when the Mahaica and Mahaicony Creek overflowed, flooding both agricultural and residential lands. The creeks were filled beyond capacity after the East Demerara Conservancy water was blown into the Mahaica and Demerara rivers to prevent the dam from collapsing under the pressure of too much water.
The conservancy, when it exceeds its capacity, is periodically blown into these rivers. This time, farmers were advised of the consequences. H however, the Administration had no choice, but to take this course of actions, as the Mahaica, Mahaicony and East Coast Demerara areas would have been severely flooded if the conservancy dam had broken.
President Jagdeo told residents that the Maduni and Lama sluices, through which the water from the conservancy was blown and this is expected to avoid further serious flooding. However, residents are still under deep water and in some communities, especially, along the Mahaica River, neighbours can access each other’s premises via boats.
Of some concern to the President is the long period that the flood waters are expected to be on the land. According to farmers, the water will take about three months to completely drain from the land. Even after drainage, it will take another lengthy period before they can return to planting, as the soil will take time to dry.
President Jagdeo told residents that local and overseas engineers are examining long-term options to avoid recurrence of such widespread flooding.
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Advertisement by the PNC/R misleading
- Information Liaison to the President
Georgetown, GINA, February 13, 2005
Government is urging the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) to desist from attempting to score political points out of the country’s worst natural disaster. This is in reference to the full page advertisement by the main Opposition party in today’s Stabroek News.
According to Information Liaison to the President, Robert Persaud, the advertisement is misleading and is of poor taste. He further said it seems to be part of the stream of interventions by the PNC/R to blame Government for the flooding that is a natural disaster, and also to politicize the national response.
“It is a clear falsehood of the PNC/R to say that the Regional Chairman’s letter of November 16 to the Minister of Local Government was not responded to. In fact, there was more than a response; there was also an immediate allocation of $12M, supplementary allocation to carry out drainage work,” he said.
Persaud said the Region Four administration is guilty of the neglect of the Region’s drainage systems and in many instances Government had to intervene to ensure that vital drainage systems were maintained for instance at Victoria and Cane Grove, East Coast Demerara and Garden of Eden and Craig, East Bank Demerara.
He said the Region, which is controlled by the main Opposition party, cannot remove itself from the accusation of neglect because the people who live in those communities know the facts.
The President’s Information Liaison said the Region should make it clear that it is only responsible for certain types of drainage work and that the Central Drainage and Irrigation Board also undertakes a number of other activities to enhance the drainage system. He noted that this year, some $29 M was allocated to the Region by the Central Drainage and Irrigation Board, in addition to what the region received from Central Government.
“It is sad that the PNC/R would stoop to this low level of blaming the Government for a natural disaster when it is recognized by all, local and overseas, that the usual amount of rainfall during this period is just about nine inches and we have had about 60 inches,” he contended, pointing out that this is far beyond the capacity of which the D&I system was built to manage and to accommodate.
“I’m calling on the PNC/R to withdraw this ad. It’s misleading; it’s a repugnant advertisement and of poor taste, especially at this time in our country when there’s a national coming together; when it is recognized that this is not a case for politics.”
Persaud said President Bharrat Jagdeo has urged the Opposition not to politicize and make petty political points out of the national response and to play a very constructive part and to stop its inventions and mischief-making, in trying to create alarm and uncertainty in the different communities, especially the flooded areas.
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Work continues to move water off lower areas on East Coast of Demerara
Georgetown, GINA Sunday, February 13, 2005
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds today re-visited the National Agricultural Institute access road where he had ordered that the road be dug across to allow water from Mon Repos to flow off the land last week.
Since then, the water level has fallen significantly but there was a need to speed up this process. The Prime Minister approved the widening of the ditch.
He also spoke with residents and community leaders about the best way to clear the drainage system in the area.
Richard Bactowar, Chairman of the Mon Repos Neighbourhood Democratic Council said that work was done in November to clear the drainage system and there had never been flooding in the area before.
He pointed out that there had never been that level of rainfall before and this is a unique situation.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds also visited the Industrial Engineering Limited, Good Hope East Coast Demerara where the pumps that have been donated to Guyana by the Trinidad and Tobago Government are being assembled.
Minister of Public Works and Hydraulics Anthony Xavier said that pumps will be installed at Good Hope and other low areas on the Coastlands.
He said that when all the flood water recedes, the pumps will be placed in areas in accordance with the assessments by his Ministry and the National Drainage and Irrigation Board.
The Minister said that drainage on the East Coast of Demerara would be adequate if all the kokers and sluices were properly maintained. He said that there is a need for the management of gravity drainage by one authority.
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President Jagdeo reassures Victoria delegation
– there is no discrimination in flood relief
Georgetown, GINA, February 13, 2005
President Bharrat Jagdeo met a delegation from Victoria Village East Coast Demerara to listen to their charges of discrimination at State House today. Desmond Saul a community leader and pastor who expressed concerns over distribution of relief items in that area headed the delegation.
The pastor told Government Information Agency (GINA) in an interview that he believed that there was some amount of mis-communication and some issues were overlooked in the initial stages of flood relief in Victoria.
He said that he is satisfied that he has been given a commitment from the President to bridge any shortfall that has resulted in dissention in the community.
He said however, that he would like to see a centralized effort to give further assistance to Victoria Village.
Meanwhile, 200 hampers will be delivered to Victoria Village tomorrow as relief efforts continue tomorrow.
The Christian Community Coordination group headed by Bishop Juan A. Edghill told, GINA that they are operating a soup kitchen that provides two meals per day in that village which is in close proximity to the temporary shelter.
Pastor Ashton Alleyne expressed surprise at some of the criticisms expressed against the relief efforts in that community. He said in addition to the meals provided by the Army and the soup kitchen, the village was also served by private organizations.
Bishop Edghill said that he is not aware of any discrimination in the overall Government relief effort. He said he does not know of any policy or decision to discriminate. He said from the onset the goal was to give relief and address needs wherever they exist.
The Bishop told GINA that the church was under pressure to assist in the flood, especially the pastors and his staff who have been working overtime to contribute to the effort. He said the church does not view this as a sacrifice but a privilege.
The Bishop urged Guyanese to use the clean-up phase of the flood as a time for healing.
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