Dear Editor,
The press can work wonders and that’s why I love the Stabroek News and its fearless journalists who have spoken out in Guyana on corruption and wrongdoings. It exposed the hypocrisy of some politicians and leaders of RDCs, NDCs and municipalities throughout the country.
Some time ago the residents of Three Friends/Mainstay were flooded out; they lost all their crops and livestock. I was called upon to pen a letter for them, which I did in the Stabroek News. Soon after it was published, I saw machines and manpower mobilized by the Regional administration of Region Two and work began.
The main trenches leading to the Three Friends koker which helps to discharge the overtopping waters from the main canal and rice fields during the rainy season, and which were clogged up for months, are now being cleaned. The pump which was out of order is being repaired, and has spares and fuel and a koker door is being fixed. A dragline was mobilized to clear the drift mud in front the outfall channel and now the water is flowing freely to the sea. On my way to Suddie on Thursday, July 13, I observed that the water in the trenches had reduced considerably and the residents’ yards were dry, thanks to my letter in the newspaper.
It left me wondering why these things were not put in place before these people were flooded and lost all their crops in their gardens as well as their livestock. It seems to me that those who were elected by the people as councillors and leaders of the township at the last local government election are not doing their work properly, or they have no clue about how the drainage system works in the township. In my opinion before leaders are elected to serve the people, they should have an idea of the problems facing their respective communities and how they can solve them; some local leaders attend meetings at their respective councils without uttering a word on behalf of their community.
I saw this kind of carefree attitude by some councillors during my tenure as the acting mayor, deputy mayor and councillor after I was elected in August 1994. These people only attend meetings to warm up the seat, eat snacks and waste taxpayers’ money; they never represent the people’s interest. There is a bigger picture confronting the township that they cannot see; some residents within Three Friends/Walton Hall have blocked the internal drains and trenches in front of their yards without there being any concrete kokers or plastic tubes in place. This is the thing that is causing the flooding of these villages and the loss of everything during the rainy season. There is a works committee which is supposed to visit each village and listen to the people’s complaints.
The rangers and overseers are supposed to visit each village and housing scheme and record what they see and the complaints they receive, then report back to the town clerk, the works committee meeting and the statutory meeting. At every committee meeting minutes are taken by the secretary, typed and sent to the councillors at their homes. When they attend the monthly statutory meetings these complaints are raised and ventilated and decisions taken by voting. I observed many times that the drain diggers are sent out to clear the drains and trenches; the operator will not dig out blocked areas which do not have tubing or a koker in front of the yard. This is a waste of taxpayers’ money because the flooding problem will still exist.
Yours faithfully,
Mohamed Khan
