PM, Minister of Agriculture visits Charity affected by flood
SDC to assess the situation today; another pump to send to the area
Ministers’ visits to Charity, Region Two yesterday.
Kaieteur News – Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips, and Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha visited the flood affected areas of Charity, Region Two.
During their visit to that Essequibo coastal area, Prime Minister Phillips assured residents that his government has a short-term and long-term plan, which he believes will remedy flooding in the community.
The community, located close to the Pomeroon River, is reported to have been severely flooded, following heavy rainfall over the past few days. Kaieteur News understands that poor drainage was the main contributor to the flood.
Residents told ministers yesterday that the water was rising from inside the trenches, which in turn flooded their residences. One resident also said: “We’re not sure if the koker was working, or whether the pumps were even working, because for the last few days the water was there and it wasn’t going down. Our understanding is that the pumps didn’t work when they should have. ”
The Agriculture Minister said that NDIA has been monitoring the situation, and has been implementing systems, which will ensure that the pumps are operational.
“Based on the reports we have received; we’re here to see what help we can give you … our technical team will be monitoring the situation from NDIA and another sector. We are here to see what further intervention we can give to see what can be done to help the situation. “
The Minister said that a pump will also be relocated to Charity. The Minister believes that this move will increase the rate of water leakage from the area.
The Prime Minister also told residents that the Civil Defense Commission will be visiting the area today, in an effort to make an assessment ahead of relief efforts.
The First Minister said: “Not only are we here to see what has happened, but the Civil Defense Commission will also come in here tomorrow (today), and they will carry out a further assessment on the damages and will bring they with them some relief supplies to the community. So we’re here to get a first-hand look and see how people are being affected in this community. “