LOCAL Government & Regional Development Minister Ganga Persaud has advised that two pumps in Georgetown had not been functioning to maximum capacity on December 24 last, resulting in excessive rainfall flooding certain parts of the city. He made this statement yesterday in responding to a question raised by Ms Volda Lawrence, Member of Parliament for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), during the first sitting of the National Assembly for 2013.

Lawrence questioned why the city had been flooded so rapidly on Christmas Eve Day, despite an announcement by Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy on national television that measures were in place to have all pumps working.

Persaud explained that, on the day in question, rain started very early in the morning, and at the peak of the wash- in tide. Additionally, two of the pumps in the city were not functioning to full capacity, and because of the excessive water on the land and its poor discharge rate, the water lingered a bit longer than usual on the surface.
Lawrence also inquired why there have been high amounts of black oil in the water whenever there is flooding in America Street, Georgetown, and whether the ministry is aware of this.

The minister, however, said he was unable to respond to that issue at that point in time, but that he would enquire and provide a response subsequently.

Lawrence asked whether the minister was aware that several persons had fallen into manholes on that day and had sustained injuries, and whether the ministry was informed of such incidents, to which Minister Ganga Persaud responded in the negative.
“I am certain that if such incidents would have occurred, (they) would have been reported to the relevant authority, which is the municipality of Georgetown. To the best of my knowledge, I have not received any such reports. Maybe those reports are still with the City, but I am committed to enquire with regard to such reports,” he stated.

The APNU MP further questioned the Local Government Minister on why there had been no collection of garbage in the South Georgetown area since December 23, 2012.

Persaud then explained that with regard to solid waste collection, the city is divided into 10 zones, and South Georgetown comes under zones seven and eight, both of which are the direct responsibility of the municipality.

“My understanding is that the municipality encountered difficulties with two of its collection trucks, and as such only one is presently operable, and the tractor/trailer which would normally assist in the collection was diverted to the market places,” he explained.

He further indicated that, for other areas in Georgetown, waste collection had been done by private contractors.