As reported by SN on March 9, at a forum organized by the Guyana Agriculture Producers Association (GAPA), an EBD farmer questioned whether the Ministry of Agriculture/ National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (MoA/NDIA) had put systems in place to deal with the impending rainy season as in Guyana we have many inadequate drainage structures. The Chief Executive Officer of NDIA responded that the Agriculture Minister had concurred with him on the matter on several occasions to have all systems (drainage) in place to deal with weather conditions when El Nino ceased.
The current dry spell provides a unique opportunity for MoA/NDIA to rehabilitate the neglected coastal drainage system, as low water levels in the drainage channels have been exposing silted, clogged and constricted sections of waterways which are easily identifiable, and have provided conditions which allow for efficient clearing. Also, concurrently those low elevations on the crown of the embankments could be filled in easily, graded and allowed to consolidate quickly, thereby reducing overtopping with the risk of flooding adjoining areas when the water level rises.
Unfortunately M oA/NDIA is pre-occupied with finding water for the various users, and the evidence suggests that there is no concerted effort to prepare coastal drainage systems for the expected rainy season. Many of the main channels need excavation to grade them; leaking sluices need repairs and servicing; and outfall channels silted to the brim need to be dredged. These are works which need to be undertaken urgently in preparation for the rainy season in order to prevent flooding. Then there are the down pumps awaiting spares and repairs.
Poor management of the country’s water resources rather than the effects of the ‘fall guy’ El Nino has been largely responsible for our present predicament. It is hoped MoA/NDIA is not caught off-guard again during the impending rainy season, and that coastal drainage systems are prepared, maintained and efficiently operated to handle the expected volumes of water from the predicted heavy rainfall rather than flogging that old whipping boy – El Nino – as the villain for our drainage and irrigation woes at every sad turn of events.
Yours faithfully,
Charles Sohan
