[www.inewsguyana.com] – The Private Sector Commission (PSC) says its confidence in flood control mechanisms have been demised following deep flooding in the Capital, Georgetown and other Regions following heavy rainfall last night and this morning.
The Body says that while the quantum of rainfall may have been unusual for the time period it fell and natural causes will obviously be blamed as in the past, it is concerned that once again it seems that the leaders of the nation have been caught off guard.
“Rainfall has once again resulted in major floods in the City of Georgetown and Coastal Plains of Guyana and the business entities and poor households will once again suffer hundreds of millions of dollars in losses,” the Body observed in a statement.
The PSC pointed out that the alert mechanisms, forecasters and administrators both in central and local government have disappointed them in their proactivity and reaction to the development.
“This situation is unfolding even after the millions being spent on the Doppler weather stations; hundreds of millions spent on drainage and irrigation annually, billions spent on the significantly delayed Hope Canal Project and the Billion Dollar currently being spent on the cleanup campaign,” the statement noted.
To this end, the PSC has joined with others to call on the on the Government, both central and local, to provide urgently the necessary assistance to ensure:
- That the areas affected are drained as soon as is practical. (The Private Sector will explore opportunities to assist).
- Support provided to aid clean up and recovery of households affected.
- Adequate systems are put in place to facilitate advisories being sent out to the public with regards to the expectations of the next few days.
- Assessment of damages for possible financial assistance to aid recovery of those affected and uninsured must be considered.
- Medical advisories are sent out so that additional disasters are not ignited.
The PSC also calls on members of the public to allow the spirit of goodwill and friendship to prevail at this time so that communities can work together to overcome this problem.
The PSC is of the view that the flooding is as a result of both a natural phenomenon and a governance problem.
The PSC recommended that for the governance problem, a national inquiry must be done this time to ensure that the true causes for the various lapses in the systems can be identified so that the alert and reaction processes can be improved in the future.
Manhattan is 13 MILES long and 3 MILES wide. How come no one picked up on that boo-boo?
LOL jon u packed a good wallop on Galfromna deh…
Mervin every word you say is true, but is the PPP willing to spend on developing Guyana, the billions of money spent on these same problems in the past can anybody answer why we still in the same position, Guyana at a Red light for years now nothing change nothing going to change until the guyanese wake up, look at the road works going to the air port they blocking all the drains the dutch put in place to drain the land , but benn up shut up and he allow his friends to fill up the drains and make Guyana THE LAND OF FLOODING ,,,
They are Business people not freeloaders like you.
Manhattan (NYC) is approximately 13 feet long and 3 feet wide, but it is the priciest piece of real estate in America and many folks want a piece of it. Since enough space does not exist to build across the landscape to accommodate as many people as possible, the decision was made to erect buildings that rise skyward: skyscrapers and high rises became the answer.
Another creative piece of engineering came into play with the disposal of sewage and public transportation by going deep beneath the surface of the earth. My point in all this is to find ways using beneath the earth as a means of helping facilitate heavy rains that cause flooding.
I reiterate an earlier suggestion that to alleviating flooding in Georgetown and its environs, government must expend money to dig existing canals deeper to accommodate greater volumes of water. It takes a certain level of creative engineering to conceive ideas to deal with this kind of situation, but take High Street for example. Block off and drain a segment until it is empty. Dig maybe 30 to 40 feet deep and construct reinforced concrete walls.
When that segment is completed, divert drain-off water into that segment and start a new segment. Replicate this same process wherever canals exist, like Lamaha Street, North Road, South Road, Vlissengen Road, Princes Street, etc. Is it costly? Yes! But the cost benefits will be better than what currently obtains.
HOW CAN HAMMY LOOK AFTER DRAINAGE IN GT WHEN HE SPENDING WHOLE DAY AND NIGHT ,EVERY DAY IN THE WEEK ,EVERY WEEK IN THE MONTH, EVERY MONTH OF THE YEAR WRITING LIES IN THE NEWSPAPERS?
All of this could have been avoided if the PSC opposed the excessive of the PPP/C government, now that the flood is hurting their pocket they want action. But look how they conveniently left out the PPP/C name or the Government with consists of the PPP/C from their statements. PSC people are not stupid.
Barrat is the first to go then hammy and then soba for spending our money on TV and new office chairs, the money could have paid for some spades to clean regent st drains, and she is being guarded by a crook and murder suspect just like hammy just now the TV and chair set will go in she big house,
d private sector must come out on to the streets in full force and demand those those who are in authority must be removed from office starting with city hall. jail de mayor…let pnc crablouse andrew come cry out loud