HEAVY rains over the past few days have caused widespread flooding and, like in the other regions of the country, Georgetown was not spared of the effects of the heavy downpour.
But from the unfolding of events in recent days, the water accumulation in the City though unavoidable when there is persistent heavy rains, the heavy buildup in some communities could have been less had the Mayor and City Council taken a hands-on approach during the current rainy season.
It is appalling that after years of experiencing floods in Georgetown when it rains heavily, the principals at City Hall seems to have learnt little when it comes to corrective actions to deal with this situation.

One would have thought by now, the drill would have been simple. In preparation for the rainy seasons, canals are cleared, policing of the City for wanton disposal of garbage is enforced and all pumps are in an operational state. Also, frequent checks are made with pump attendants, especially during the rainy season, to ensure they do their work.
But City Hall is a special place. At City Hall, talking rather than acting, along with political scheming seem to be the norm and culture or the order of the day for those who lord over the City.
The incidents on Sunday morning and Sunday night immediately come to mind. Heavy rains had caused flooding in certain sections of the City and checks by several government ministers at key locations found that pumps and sluices were not in operation.
Since in light of the heavy rains and the fact that these equipment were not in use at a critical time, the charge of negligence was levelled at the principals of the City, which many felt was justifiable.

However, Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine had a different view, rejecting the charge of negligence while pointing out that the A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For change (APNU+AFC) will never deliberately allow the flooding of the City, which is home to many of its supporters.
The Mayor went to say that it was unfair for government ministers to stop at drainage infrastructure sites in the City without coming out of their vehicles to inspect them, contending among other things that the failure to do so would have given the senior government functionaries an inaccurate picture of the state of things. These visits were made early in the morning and the claim that government ministers did not come out their vehicles during the inspection visits, from all indications, seems inaccurate. Both Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha and Public Infrastructure Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill were seen interacting with residents in the vicinity of some of the drainage structures.
Nevertheless, the Mayor continued, urging senior government officials who intend to visit drainage sites in Georgetown to come out of their vehicles and speak with the pump attendants there, noting that this will give them a more informed view of what is happening.

Perhaps, at the time of speaking, he was over confident that no one will take him up on this matter. Mayor Narine must have been terribly taken aback when at two hours before midnight, President, Dr Irfaan Ali took up the challenge, and much to the Mayor’s nightmare, found some of the most glaring instances of negligence. At a critical time when the pumps and sluices should have been in operation, some operators were asleep and sluice doors were closed, preventing the drainage of water in the City, on a day that experienced a considerable amount of rainfall. The scenes from the President’s visit tell a notable story –City Hall does not have its pulses on things on the ground in terms of marshalling its troops to keep the flood waters at bay and more importantly – the APNU+AFC’s love for its supporters could be very convenient. A case in point here is the Coalition’s tenure in office. During their five years in power, flooding was virtually non-existent in the City; so why now there is negligence and flooding when there is a different government in place with no change in the managers at City Hall?