CABINET has mandated the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) to coordinate efforts to bring relief to residents of Region 9 and parts of Region 1, as they face drought conditions in their communities, due to low levels of rainfall. This is according to Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon, who informed the media yesterday at his weekly post-Cabinet media briefing.

He stated that due to unseasonably low amounts of rainfall, parts of the two regions, as well as the north eastern section of Brazil have been hard hit by drought conditions. He noted that in addition to a lack of water, there has been the resurgence of pests which were attacking what little crops remained that were minimally affected by the drought.
The CDC, Dr Luncheon revealed, will coordinate with the Ministries of Amerindian Affairs, Local Government, Housing and Water, Public Works and Guyana Water Inc. in their efforts to bring relief to the affected communities. This will be done by sourcing water from accessible rivers and other sources and via the use of tractors and trailers with black tanks, traversing the area and providing water to residents, he added.
It has been reported to Cabinet that most wells have dried up and the water table is “so low that shallow wells were at this point, inaccessible”, Dr. Luncheon said. The intervention will continue for the duration of persisting drought conditions.
Government has consistently sought to bring relief to areas, particularly those in the hinterland regions, affected by adverse weather conditions.(GINA)