MINISTER of Transport and Hydraulics, Mr. Robeson Benn on Friday led a distribution exercise that handed out over 300 food packages and bottled water to residents directly affected by flooding due to adverse weather conditions  in various communities in Region Ten, including Three Friends, Malali, Muritaro and Rockstone.
The packages comprise such basic necessities as rice, flour, oil and peas, and according to the Minister, the exercise was as a result of a collaborative effort between the government, through the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), and the local NGO, Food for the Poor, and was based on an assessment that was carried out on Wednesday when he last visited the affected communities.
With respect to health implications arising from the flood, the government has begun distributing medical supplies, including tablets to purify water.
Also involved in the distribution exercise were Region Ten Chairman, Mr. Mortimer Mingo, and the CEO of LINMINE, Mr. Horace James among other key officials.
Kwakwani has not been excluded from the relief effort although residents have benefitted from food supplies a few weeks ago.
The food packages for Kwakwani are at the LINMINE Secretariat and were to have been delivered yesterday.
Minister Benn said the community was previously affected by flooding, and it is recurring.
Mingo highlighted that flooding is not new to the district, but that the communities have never been affected to this extent. He expressed the view that it is a natural phenomenon and there is nothing that can be done.
He posited that this situation is not unique to Guyana and indicated that persons must be cognizant of the effects of climate change.
Residents although distraught over the situation are grateful for Government’s interventions. Most of them are involved in small scale farming and their crops were destroyed by the flood.
One resident of Rockstone noted that the economic activities of the community have been affected.
She expressed that the community will have to find new ways to carry out those activities. (GINA)