SO, the President accuses M&CC of fiddling while the city flounders, after heavy flooding. What many Guyanese do not know is “What legalities prevent government from taking over the city’s waste disposal and the related drainage problems? If this cannot be done thru constitutional means, then an agreement must be worked out with the M&CC to place these functions under central government’s management, until the next elections or when the city can adequately perform these functions in a satisfactory manner. 

Surely, any reasonable Guyanese must conclude that these functions need to be comprehensibly addressed now and not in some undefined time in the future. It is interesting, to put it mildly, to hear that Mr. Benn said that they will have to map out a programme for the next four to five years to moderate the situation over that period of time. He also said that they will have to look at designs with the city and the NDIA and come up with a plan to re-establish kokers and pump stations, and a programme to improve the secondary and tertiary drainage in the communities.
The question that jumps out to a reasonable man is: why this study was not started, if not finished a long time ago?  Surely, no one would have objected to it. Perhaps, we should look at what we had in dealing with some run-offs and have changed since the 1950s.
It is time to implement immediate changes in the functioning of these areas by government with as much support from ordinary city dwellers, or the opposition parties as can be attained. Complaining alone will not construct a better waste disposal or drainage system or solve an immediate and critical problem. Maybe the old saying (politically) “who will bell the cat (M&CC)” applies here..

N. AUGUSTUS