Two Linden families are lamenting that it has been more than four months since they have been running behind government officials to have their fences, yards and surroundings repaired after they were damaged by erosion.
On October 21, a shower of heavy rain sent hundreds of gallons of water rushing through Canvas City, Wismar, having failed to escape through the heavily silted culvert; instead, the water ripped away at fences and caused serious erosion in two yards.
Nichola Higgins, a member of one of the two affected families, told Stabroek News that they have been making contact with the authorities every week since the incident and to date they have not been given any compensation. “They are the ones who came and said that they would have fixed back our fence and ’til this day we can’t even see not a single sign that says that they are going to get our place fixed and every day this is getting worse,” she said.
According to Higgins, as recently as last week she spoke with CEO at the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority Lionel Wordsworth. “When I contacted him, at first he asked me to hold on for three weeks.
I waited and the three weeks ended and I called him again and again he asked me to hold on for another week,” she said, adding that after that time elapsed she again called Wordsworth, who responded that he was in a meeting. “Since then he has not been taking my calls. This is very frustrating and not at all very fair,” Higgins said.
The woman said she also spoke with Lloyd Peters, an engineer at the regional office but he told her that he had no idea where things stood regarding the repairs. “He said that he ain’t get no instructions from George-town,” she explained. Higgins also said she had made contact with Mr Raphael, who is attached to the Ministry of Agriculture, but while the man acknowledged that a commitment had been made to effect repairs, they are unable to start the work because the Tender Board has not yet released any funds.
This newspaper’s attempts to contact Wordsworth proved futile.
However, Mr Raphael admitted speaking to Higgins but he declined to comment on the issue, saying that only the CEO was authorized to speak to the media.
Meanwhile, Higgins said that she is frustrated that the process is taking so long because she hosts a church at her home and the erosion is hampering free ingress and egress, particularly for the senior members of the congregation. “
A lot of the members who come to church are having problems to get in because of the state of the place so most of them have stop coming,” she said.
