–with gov’t investment of over $238M to procure excavators

AS part of the government’s efforts to empower local government authorities across the country, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha handed over four mini-excavators to four Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) on the East Coast of Demerara.

The machines, each valued at approximately $14 million, will be used to carry out drainage works in the residential communities within their respective Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) catchment areas.

Minister Mustapha, while addressing residents and farmers at the handing over ceremony which was held at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Complex at La Bonne Intention (LBI) on Saturday, said all 17 NDCs in Region Four will soon have access to an excavator, thanks to the Government of Guyana, representing a total investment of approximately $238 million.

He told residents that as part of the government’s vision to develop a comprehensive drainage system across the country, the Ministry of Agriculture, through the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), has a critical role to play when it comes to providing drainage and irrigation in both cultivation and residential communities.

“We are developing a comprehensive drainage system that can withstand one of the problems we are currently facing in this part of the world, climate change. Over the last few years, Guyana, like many other countries in the region, has been experiencing unseasonal weather patterns. The existing drainage system in our country was designed to drain approximately one-and-a-half inches of water in 24 hours. If funds are not allocated to improve the existing system, we will continuously encounter serious difficulties. If we want to fully restore our status as the breadbasket of the Caribbean, we have to invest and develop a comprehensive drainage system,” he explained.

Prior to Sunday’s activity, Minister Mustapha had said that President Dr. Irfaan Ali and Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo had instructed that resources be allocated to empower local government authorities to be able to maintain the drainage systems within their communities.

Minister Mustapha also said that the government is actively working to develop a drainage system that is needed to effectively drain vulnerable areas in this country on time.
“Following the 2005 floods, the PPP/C government started to develop the system that is needed to effectively drain vulnerable areas in this country in a timely manner. That’s why we constructed the high-level canal at Hope, which we refer to as the Hope Canal. When we built that canal, a lot of persons, specifically the Opposition, had a lot of negative things to say,” Minister Mustapha said.

“We lived to see that very same structure playing a very critical role in 2021 when Guyana experienced another major flood; the most devastating flood in our country’s history. Every other part of the country was severely affected, except for the East Coast of Demerara and Georgetown. We are now constructing similar structures in Regions Six, Five, and Two. These are ‘mega’ projects that require large-scale investments. An investment in this sector is an investment in this country’s infrastructure,” he added.

He also said that while the machines are being handed over to the NDCs, they will be managed and maintained by the NDIA, as the NDCs may not have the capacity to finance the upkeep of the machines.

The most recent beneficiaries of support are the Cane Grove NDC, Unity/Vereeniging NDC, Mon Repos/La Reconnaissance NDC, and the Beterverwagting/Triumph NDC. Each NDC will now have to develop a work plan to guide the maintenance of the internal drainage systems in their communities, while the NDIA will focus on maintaining main canals and other major drainage and irrigation infrastructure.

Minister Mustapha said that before the end of the year, all local government authorities in Guyana will have a mini-excavator to execute works to upgrade internal drainage systems in the communities. (Ministry of Agriculture)