THE rains have come in a manner that seems it is out for some form of vengeance. Granted that May-June is a rainy period, the heavy rains experienced over the past few days and resulting in flooding in every region of the country, appear to be a first. The pattern of rainfall nowadays from the look of things is also different from what obtained before, an indication that climate change is real. In times past, there were bouts of downpours with long periods of drizzle; today, this pattern has been replaced by short bursts of intense rains which amount to greater accumulation of water. This situation has put the national drainage system under severe stress, as it was not designed to off take the amount of water from the heavy rains being experienced these days, resulting in flooding in communities across the country. And of course, the situation is exacerbated by the wanton disposal of garbage and thick vegetation in waterways, which clog drainage systems. The latter two could be avoided, but it requires a change in the culture of residents and local officials doing the work that they are expected to do. First, it is important that residents stop dumping refuse in drains and canals because aside from it blocking the waterways, it also pollutes the environment.
Both of these issues should be tackled head-on by the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDC) because these are part and parcel of what council members are largely elected to do. Naturally, the flooding being experienced in some areas could also be lessened if drains and canals are maintained year-round.

The result of not paying attention to these matters is heavy accumulation of water on the land for a longer-than-expected period. In these instances, both residential and farm lands are affected and require swift intervention by central government, as currently being dispensed, to get the water off the land. Since the flooding started, the government has been on the ground, assessing the damage caused by the heavy rains over the past few days as well as offering relief to those affected.
On Wednesday, Education Minister Priya Manickchand was in Region Three interacting with residents and assessing the floods there, while Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Deodat Indar, was busy mobilising excavators to clear trenches, culverts and main drains.
While ministers Manickchand and Indar were in Region Three, Prime Minister Brigadier (r’td) Mark Phillips and Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha were working to bring food and sanitisation hampers as well as other relief to the affected communities in that region.
“Our decisions are aimed at bringing relief to the people of this community in the shortest possible time,” said the Prime Minister, while Minister Mustapha added that, “Many persons would have suffered losses in terms of livestock, cash crops and rice. Our various agencies will be looking at that. I commit that we will try as much as possible to assist those who would have suffered losses in those areas, giving them back materials and things like that.”

The Prime Minister was days before in Region Nine, where he brought food supplies to the residents there who are affected by flooding due to heavy rainfall in the region and neighbouring Brazil. Also on Wednesday, Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues and Minister with Responsibility for Public Affairs in the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy, were on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway assessing the floods in the region and offering support to the affected residents.
Other ministers and senior government officials have also fanned out to the other regions over the past two days to not only activate mechanisms to speed up drainage of excess water on farm and residential areas, but to also bring other material relief to those affected. Naturally, and of course, while the government is busy at work to bring relief to the affected residents, the opposition has also been busy at work, churning out their daily diet of misinformation and fictitious claims about the government’s response to the flooding.
Through the intervention of central government, as of Thursday, pumps and sluices have been in full operation, excavators have been deployed to clear blocked channels and repairs have ramped up on damaged drainage infrastructure. These interventions have resulted in the receding of water in a number of the flood-hit areas in the various regions.