Following a meeting with several residents and farmers from Belladrum, Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha has once again made good on a commitment to ensure critical drainage works are carried out.
According to DPI, during the meeting, which was held in the village last Saturday, residents complained bitterly of the blatant neglect to critical drainage channels over the last few years, which results in flooding of several communities during the rainy season.
Minister Mustapha instructed officials from the National Drainage and Irrigation authority (NDIA) to put systems in place to have works carried out on a number of drains and canals in the area. In less than seven days, NDIA was able to deploy the requisite resources to commence critical works on the AD 60A main drainage canal, which is over 3.4 miles long.
While offering a comment on the works, Minister Mustapha said that the time when Government officials would make empty promises to people can be considered a thing of the past.
“This is a clear demonstration that the Government means business. As Minister of Agriculture, I will ensure I make good on all the commitments made to the people of Guyana. I cannot sit in my office knowing that our farmers, who continue to invest their scarce resources to develop the agriculture sector, live with some amount of uncertainty of the safety of their investments because the Government fails to provide its mandated services. I met with the farmers and residents on Saturday last and in less than a week, our Ministry was able to deliver,” Minister Mustapha was quoted by DPI as saying.
The works which are currently ongoing, are being executed to the sum of close to $2M and is set to benefit over 1000 acres of farm lands upon completion.
NDIA said it will also be carrying out works to have a residential drain cleared within the next few days, DPI reported.
