-says Agri. Minister

AS the country prepares for the usual May/June rains, Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, has noted that government, through the ministry’s National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), is working to mitigate flooding across the Corentyne Coast in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

According to a press release, Minister Mustapha informed residents that, based on data gathered by the Hydromet Department, this year’s rainy period will have conditions similar to the May 2021 floods, which devastated some 52,000 households within 300 communities, as well as thousands of acres of farmlands across the country.

The minister made these disclosures on Saturday during an outreach to several communities in the Port Mourant area.

He told the residents that the ministry has been working with the various regional bodies to put systems in place to avoid a reoccurrence of what took place last year.

“Right now, we are experiencing a very high intensity of rainfall. I’ve received reports that the internal drains are clogged up. Even if we clear the main canals, if the internal drains are clogged up the water will not drain. I will ask our engineers to organise and send a small team back to the area to look at the drainage issues. I will also assign a small machine to clean all the drains as soon as [I receive] the recommendations from the engineers,” the minister said according to the press release.

Residents also raised issues about the ongoing flood-relief programme and told the minister that many persons are still awaiting assistance.

Minister Mustapha told the residents that many persons from the region are still on the list to receive assistance and that his ministry was working with the Ministry of Finance to complete the distribution of funds soon.

While acknowledging that there were issues with the distribution process, Minister Mustapha said that action has been taken against persons who were found guilty of colluding with residents to defraud the government. He also assured residents that, once they had suffered losses, they will receive assistance from the government.

Meanwhile, Minster Mustapha stated that even as the Ministry continues to work to provide relief to the residents, the government is committed to ensuring that the local Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) continue to play a part in improved drainage and irrigation activities to complement the ministry’s initiatives.

Minister Mustapha’s comments came as calls were made by several residents for the greater involvement of the NDCs.

The press release said that he noted government’s commitment to assist in this regard since many of these bodies do not have the resources to function given that many persons have not been paying their rates and taxes. However, the minister maintained that this should not stop the NDC from performing its functions, adding that the Central Government will assist with works in the communities.

“We know that revenue collection remains an issue for the NDCs but that doesn’t mean that Central Government wouldn’t act. We will try as much as possible to assist with community issues,” the agriculture minister stated according to the press release.