At re-commissioning of Kitty pump station—-
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo said yesterday that political parties need to work closer at the national level to move the country forward.

He was speaking at the re-commissioning of the rehabilitated Kitty Pump Station, costing $63.7M, by the Ministry of Agriculture’s National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), which was handed over to the Georgetown City Council to improve drainage in the city.

President Bharrat Jagdeo alluding to comments made by the Mayor of Georgetown, Mr. Hamilton Greene, during his brief remarks, said philosophy and vision is good, but if not backed by commitment, diligence and hard work, then nothing happens.

The Kitty pump in operation

He noted that the Central Government has financed roads to the tune of some US$50M underscoring, “If we wanted to deprive the citizens of Georgetown of facilities then, maybe, we would have spent this money elsewhere.”

He insisted that the city looks and feels different, and the Government is now spending over $2B in creating a dumpsite of which the primary beneficiary is the city.

He stressed that garbage collection is a recognised function of the city adding, “We are funding it because we recognised that the city may not be able to.”

“In almost every sphere that the city has been involved in, in improving the lives of the citizens of Georgetown in particular, the Central Government has been there supporting all along,” he stated.

He underlined that Government wants to work with the City Council, stating, “We want to ensure that through this collaboration, people have a better life here, and therefore we will continue as far as possible to do that, but people have to be accountable for resources too.”

President Jagdeo said that every single year, the administration has done accounts of the entire country which have been placed before the National Assembly sub committee chaired by the Opposition, so “they can scrutinize the accounts and audited statements for the entire country”.

“The City Council still has some real troublesome issues of accountability so when you want greater responsibility for collecting revenue, you have to also match that with greater responsibility for accounting for revenue,” he maintained.

“We will continue to assist in any way that we can, not because I am pleased with the functioning of everything, but because I recognise that the citizens of this country and the city, they deserve better; so I hope that we can use this facility for its intended purpose,” he stated.

“…we need to work closer at the national level…I hope given the speech of Mr. Corbin (Robert) this year, that we can use the opportunity of his speech, what he said about genuinely wanting to work closer together, putting away baggage, recognising that our country is important to all of us, and that there are bigger issues than our parties that we belong to,” he stated.

The President added, “Because I said it many, many times, that I am Guyanese before I am PPP (People’s Progressive Party) and if there is anything in my party that conflicts with the national interest, I will take the national interests.”

“So I agree that we should all work towards some form of enhanced collaboration among the political parties, if we can establish a framework based on respect where the thing that drives us most is the need to respond to the demands of our people…then that framework will succeed,” he insisted.

The President pledged, “I am prepared to work for the bigger framework. I am prepared to do that, but we must do this without baggage, without partisan approach where the good of our country and the good for people in our country is the primary concern.”

“If we get that framework, where all the parties can work in a collaborative fashion, we can make more progress, and we can move our country faster forward,” he stated.

The President also told the gathering that he met with farmers in Mahaicony and Mahaica yesterday morning, who are facing serious difficulties because of extremely variable weather occasioned by climate change.

“I said to them earlier in the past ten years, based on some studies done, we have lost the equivalent of 10 per cent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) due to flooding,” he disclosed.

He said drought-like conditions are being experienced, and added, “We have to look to the future, that a significant part of the prosperity in Guyana will have to take into account the challenges posed by climate change.”

“It is going to strain the development capacity of our country, and this is why we have to have a new type of thinking. How do we protect the coast line differently,” he put forward.

To this end, he said sea defenses will cost over US$700M and he touched on the mangrove project that could be one of the big ways to adjust and adapt to climate change, and also the Hope canal project.

He said, “We constantly have to factor in the challenges of climate change in our development planning.”

“This is very, very important. What you are seeing here is just a fragment of a larger policy to deal with that adaptation,” he stated.

He said, “…we can see opportunities in climate change, and take advantage of the opportunities, and mitigate against the risk.”

Giving an overview of the project, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) (Ag) of NDIA, Mr. Lionel Wordsworth, said during a presidential visit in March 2009, a visit was made at Kitty and the Liliendaal Pump Stations, and throughout the East Coast, and the decision was taken for the NDIA to rehabilitate both the Kitty and Liliendaal drainage pumps as part of a wider programme of improving drainage and irrigation across the coast and the city of Georgetown.

He said that rehabilitation works on the existing two units at Liliendaal have been completed and are functioning.

He said included in the major works done on the Kitty Pump Station was the installation of two electrical units, and it will serve areas extending west of Sheriff Street, East of Camp Street and North of Lamaha Street.

Resident of Georgetown, Mr. Christopher Fernandes, on behalf of the community, took the opportunity to thank the Government for the gesture which is vital to residents, and committed to help in maintaining the facility for the next 18 years.

Minister of Agriculture Mr. Robert Persaud said thousands of persons would enjoy the benefit and look forward to better drainage, as a result of this investment.

Recognising the work of the NDIA board, he noted that “it is not only about the dedication, it is also about celebrating some hard work and achievements and also fulfilling the Government’s agenda to expand drainage and irrigation systems across the country”.

He said the Kitty Pump Station and the Liliendaal project, which costs around $73M, is just representative of the investments that have been made in drainage and irrigation by Central Government consistently.

Also present were Minister of Labour, Mr. Manzoor Nadir; Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Mr. Manniram Prashad; Minister within the Ministry of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran; and Deputy Mayor, Mr. Robert Williams.