A CONTINGENT from the Brazilian military departed Lethem on Monday for the South Rupununi to commence reconnaissance work for the drilling of eight wells in villages there.
The team from the Sixth Construction Engineering Battalion departed Lethem on Monday for Aishalton, where the team will commence its work. The move came on the same day Minister of Natural Resources , Raphael Trotman, highlighted the establishment of a Water Catchment Area in Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo) at the World Water Forum in Brazil as a local example of ongoing efforts to find long-term solutions for communities during periods of drought, or who still experience limited access to water and assured the gathering that plans were underway to better understand the opportunities and threats involved.

Earlier this month, a working group meeting for the project was held in the boardroom of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) with the Brazilian Military Attaché to Guyana, Colonel Deni Da Silva, Acting Director-General of the organisation, Lieutenant-Colonel Kester Craig and stakeholders from the Ministries of Communities, Public Health, Foreign Affairs and Agriculture, as well as the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) and the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI).
The drilling of the wells, which is expected to commence in October, will be undertaken over a two-month period. During the drilling phase, the Brazilian army will be working closely with the GDF and this collaboration will see the drilling of artesian wells in the villages of Aishalton, Chukrikednau, Shea, Maruranawa, Awarawaunau, Karaudarnau, Achiwib and Bashraidrun.

Colonel Craig said that the drilling of the wells is an important part of disaster response and preparedness, particularly during the El Nino season. Upon completion of the wells, Colonel Craig said that the commission will undertake the task of monitoring and evaluating the project to determine how it has impacted the communities.

This project follows President David Granger’s state visit to Brazil in December 2017, when the Complementary Agreement to the Basic Agreement on Technical Cooperation between the Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Federative Republic of Brazil for Implementation of the Project Technologies to Reduce the Effects of the Drought in Region Nine of Guyana, was inked.