Dear Editor,

Once again, we see our appointed leaders preying on the emotions of our dear brothers and sisters by comparing the misfortunes of two regions that experienced flooding at different intervals over the last three years. As a result, I’ve ceased to question the integrity of these individuals who claim to be “by the people and for the people” as they continue to demonstrate they have none.

Recently, several communities in Linden were affected by flooding; flooding which could’ve been avoided had the regional authorities and municipalities honoured their responsibilities. Hours after the unfortunate occurrence, the government through the Civil Defence Commission distributed cleaning agents to affected residents.

What I found to be utterly distasteful is the comparison by the Mayor of relief distributed to Residents in Region Ten to that which was given to Residents who also suffered flooding in 2021 in Region Six.

What the Mayor intentionally failed to point out when he took screenshots of an article published by a local news entity detailing the monetary value of the relief given to the Residents of Region Six is that this relief was not distributed immediately to residents in Region Six. He also failed to show his followers that the affected residents in Region Six also received cleaning agents from the government. In 2021, residents in Region Ten who were affected by flooding also received millions of dollars in flood relief from the government.

In fact, it wasn’t until an assessment of the losses, which included damages to the agriculture sector and household appliances was done, that those affected received monetary relief. This process took months as the article was published in August 2021 while the flooding took place in May 2021.

I am yet to see the efforts put forward by the Mayor’s office to assist the affected residents. Instead, they are taken up with driving around in their state-owned vehicles to do Facebook Lives to criticize the NDIA and the government for work the regional authorities are mandated to do.

This is not the time or the season to engage in petty political gimmicks. People’s lives and livelihoods are at stake. We must also move away from promoting division among our people and promote unity so that we can escape the shackles of racism and mental slavery. I will close by asking those who were affected, how has the Linden M&CC assisted you during this time. Did they supply any cleaning agents? Did they engage community workers to conduct manual cleaning to have these internal drains that are impeding the flow of water? Wake up, Linden! Wake up!

Yours truly,

Ron Mckenzie