THE Granger Government is experiencing its second baptism with water in just two months of taking office after the May 11, 2015 democratic polls.The first time attracted an unprecedented “clean up” campaign that witnessed citizens voluntarily getting their hands muddied and braving clogged-up trenches and drains to help release flood waters.
Also, the response of the new government was swift, notably from efforts led by Minister David Patterson in urban areas, and Minister Noel Holder in mainly rural agricultural zones. The mouths of rivers were dredged, canals de-silted and kokers either repaired or re-activated.
Farmers from Mahaica to Lima were rescued from certain disaster. Further, for the first time, even before an official handing-over ceremony, the Hope Canal was activated to help release water from the East Demerara Water Conservancy, which was close to the high-water mark and could have overtopped.
In most of those efforts, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) played a useful role, as it ought to have done in the first place, to avert flooding. Guyana breathed a sigh of relief.
But then came the second and current baptism, which resulted from heavy, unprecedented, and incessant rainfall.
The dark clouds had gathered whilst President Granger was at a 70th birthday celebration, organised by friends at Camp Ayanganna.
When those clouds came down in torrential rains, not only was cricket washed away, but all villages in low-lying areas on the Guyana coastland experienced flash floods.
President Granger summoned a Cabinet caucus at 04:00hrs, and another at 08:00hrs yesterday before leaving for Brazil. After those consultations, the Civil Defence Commission activated its National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) that would coordinate efforts to deal with the serious consequences of the flood situation.
By 18:00hrs, the Acting President, Mr Moses Nagamootoo was briefed on the measures being taken, which included health, security, electricity, water, traffic and weather advisories, together with concrete efforts on the ground to drain the flood waters.
There is no doubt that citizens would suffer severe losses of all types, and that the flash floods would cause hardships. To ask citizens who have, for years, been anguished by neglect of basic services, including proper drainage, to bear yet another episode of frustration might be asking too much. But there is hardly a choice in this present situation, which could challenge all of us to bring out the best in us as we appeal to citizens to throw in their support for the continuing clean-up campaign, and for our business sector to add their machinery to the effort.
The former regime must not be tempted to make politics of our people’s misery, and do the predictable of laying blame on others. For over two decades, the PPP-led administration had the opportunity of fixing our drainage problem, but threw billions down the drain, without a solution in sight. The least it could do now is to stay silent and observe on the sideline what it takes to lead in dire times like this.
As the flood waters in our various communities recede, and we assess our losses, we must all hope for lasting solutions that could inspire us to say, “Never again!”