AFTER a night of heavy rainfall, residents of Georgetown were, on Sunday morning, greeted with floods due to the delay in the opening of sluices and the improper disposal of garbage around the Capital City. Reporting from the field, Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, told the Guyana Chronicle that had the pumps and sluices been operational in the wee hours of the morning, flash-flooding in the capital could have been avoided. “In the wee hours of this (Sunday) morning when the pumps should have been operable, pump attendants were sleeping and did not put on the pumps, which led to accumulation of water in various sections, which would have seen the bottom flats of some houses having water inside, and this is mainly in the south of Georgetown,” Minister Edghill said. Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, said the negligence from the Mayor and City Council appears to be deliberate, given that over the past few days there were heavy rains but minimal flooding in the City. However, following an assessment in the City, the pumps/sluices were open but water levels were receding at a slow pace due to several drains being blocked by garbage and debris. “At 10:25am this morning (Sunday), the sluices were open and water had begun to recede at a very slow pace, and that is because some interlocking drains are blocked with garbage. This is a situation that falls clearly at the feet of The Mayor and City Council for neglect,” the Public Works Minister pointed out. Lamenting that it takes an all-hands-on deck approach to address the flooding situation, Minister Edghill called on residents and the respective Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) across the City to be mindful of the ongoing wet season and to ensure that their respective neighbourhoods drains and canals are clean.

“To the businesses, to the vendors, to the households that are doing construction, that would allow construction material to block a drain; the NDC’s we are appealing to all to act responsible.”
He further pointed out that the coastal region of Guyana is below sea level and that the country depends on a drainage system that can only take off a certain amount of water and have it drained within a 24-hr period; hence, blockages and delays will result in floods across the City. “When we dump garbage and we have debris, builders waste blocking canals, and people for their own selfish reasons extend and construct buildings and businesses across a drain and is not allowing it to be desilted or cleaned, it affects everyone, so we have to be our brother’s keeper.”
Additionally, the minister noted that persons have to rid themselves of negative habits such as littering, “I would like to see us rid ourselves of this dumping mentality, or shying mentality… so that in an event like the rain we are having now, everybody will be okay.” In the meantime, Minister Edghill noted that the government has been robust in its response to the recent floods across the country and has been working relentlessly to bring relief to those who are affected severely.
“Priorities of our government; number one is the safety of our people; we must ensure that they all have food and that their health issues are addressed and the government will spare no effort in ensuring that we bring those services to our people. So, the various interventions that are being made are to ensure that the life and the livelihoods of our people are preserved,” he said.