Banks should exercise some flexibility
Amerindian Affairs, Minister Pauline Sukhai interacting with a resident who had lost her crops to the floods (Ministry of Amerindian Affairs photo)
Amerindian Affairs, Minister Pauline Sukhai interacting with a resident who had lost her crops to the floods (Ministry of Amerindian Affairs photo)

— say some Region Seven residents ‘squeezed’ by flooding

WITH several homes and businesses still under water, Region Seven residents are reporting millions in losses and some with outstanding loans are calling on banks to exercise some flexibility during this trying period.

Oswald Greaves, a business man and one of the affected persons, who chose to go on record, said the economy in the region has been at a standstill since the start of the rainy season.
“My main thing here is producing, nothing is going on here and more so the miners, everybody here are down, more so Mr. Bank, we got to deal with Mr. Bank.

We would like for them to give us a little space, a couple of months at least until this thing has come to an end and everything back to normal and we start traversing again,” he said, stressing that some form of amnesty is needed during this time as many miners, farmers and businesses are barely keeping afloat.

Regional Chairman, Kenneth Williams, told the Guyana Chronicle that, himself and Vice-Chairman, Kamal Persaud, had spent three days in several flood-affected communities interacting with residents, providing relief and making assessments.

“We saw, first-hand, the devastating impact and financial ruin on the hundreds of farmers and businessmen and women,” he said, adding: “Most businessmen and residents are seeking some sort of financial relief from the Government.”

Mining landings such as Tamakay, Surinamo, Apaika, Hyamerica and Pappy Show have been forced to shut down all economic activities.
In the Indigenous community of Kangaruma, some 54 farms have been under water for the past two weeks and farmers have recorded loses close to $20M.

Over the past 25 hours, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) has continued to receive reports of flooding across the country. Further, the CDC has continued its
verification of flood reports, in addition to the deployment of personnel and resources to support in flood response.

According to the CDC, Regions 10, Seven, Six, Five and Two are the most impacted.
A total of 216 persons are currently being housed in a total of nine shelters activated in Regions Two, Five, Nine and 10.

LOSSES
In an extensive assessment the CDC, last week stated that over 200 farms in Waramadong, have been impacted, five houses are flooded and residents have been relocated to higher ground.
In Jawalla, over 150 farms and over 60 households have been affected, with seven families being relocated to safer living quarters. One house was reported to have collapsed due to the floodwaters.

Quebanang, another village in the region, has a total of 86 affected households, the CDC said. Additionally, five government buildings are inundated. In Kako, 120 farms and 12 houses have been flooded. Residents who are concerned about water-borne diseases have requested mosquito nets, rain boots and water tanks.
An assessment of Chinoweng and Wax Creek found that 132 farms and 98 farms respectively were destroyed by floodwaters, the CDC said.

However, no family was required to be relocated. In Abbou, a small mining community in the region, three houses were flooded but no residents had to be relocated. In other mining areas such as Imbaimadai, Ominik and Kambora, at least 20 mining camps have been flooded, forcing miners to move to higher ground, the CDC said.

RELIEF

Over the weekend, Amerindian Affairs Minister, Pauline Sukhai, travelled to Chenapou Village, Region Eight (Potaro-Sipuruni) to conduct a flood impact assessment and deliver relief supplies to the affected residents in the village.

The minister met with farmers and visited the farms which were completely devastated by the floodwaters. She also visited those residents who suffered losses after their homes went underwater due to high water levels.

A total of 126 food hampers, cleaning agents were presented to residents, and an agricultural tool (chain saw) was handed over to Toshao Stanford John for flood-affected residents.
Regional Councillors and Community Development Officer, Kurt Pereira, accompanied Minister Sukhai on her visit over the weekend.

Housing and water Minister, Colin Croal, has conducted a two-day outreach in Moruca at the weekend, where he distributed hampers to some 412 families in communities located along the Barima River.

Hampers were delivered to residents of Santa Cruz, Chinese Landing Kokerite, Waikarebi, Kariako, Warapoka and Ayanna Landing.
In addition, some 200 food hampers were distributed to residents of Tigerbone Banakari and Waiakabra, along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway by Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame Mckoy.

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