NEW Amsterdam Mayor Claude Henry has warned that he will “get tough” on property owners who block drains in the town with illegal structures.
He told the Guyana Chronicle that the Town Council has undertaken a massive overhaul of the century old drainage system. “We are using prisoners to assist us with this project and they will be cleaning under bridges to ensure that we will have proper drainage,” Henry said.
He noted that, in some cases, persons have their bridges resting in the drain and, therefore, blocking the flow of water.
“We will be breaking those bridges and we will not be replacing them,” the Chief Citizen said.
Poor drainage has been one of the many issues plaguing the Municipality for decades, prompting the citizenry to conclude that its administrators are incapable of effectively and efficiently managing the oldest town in the ‘Ancient County’.
Last year, the Municipality engaged the New Amsterdam Prison in a partnership which resulted in daily involvement of prisoners assisting with the cleaning of drains and the collection of garbage.
According to the Mayor, the move to break the bridges is likely to meet with opposition. Nevertheless, he emphasised that the Council has taken a decision to go ahead and remove all that are blocking the waterways without any compensation.