Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder is set to get a new four-wheel drive vehicle and the City of Georgetown is to receive four mobile pumps through the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) to alleviate flooding in the city once the national budget is given parliamentary approval.
This was revealed yesterday as the budget’s current and capital estimates for the Ministry of Agriculture came under scrutiny by the Opposition Members of Parliament.
Questioned about the allocation of $17.69 million for the purchase of a vehicle under the project title, land and water transport, Holder said, the vehicle was for the use of the Minister of Agriculture as the one the minister now uses, vehicle PBB 3011, was bought as a reconditioned vehicle in 2008 and it was now becoming an embarrassment to him.
Holder recalled that the vehicle recently broke down in Lethem and it had to be towed to be repaired.
“It is reasonable that among the ministers who is required to have a four-wheel drive vehicle is the minister of agriculture,” he said.
On the increase of the allocation of $100 million in 2018 to $669.3 million in 2019 for the NDIA for 13 fixed and mobile drainage pumps in the city as well as for other parts of the country, Holder said, the pumps should allow for better drainage in the city and “hopefully” across the country.
The pumps are being sourced from India. Of the nine fixed drainage pump, Hampton Court and Devonshire Castle will be allocated two each, while Den Amstel, Hope, Nootenzuil, Mora Point and Rose Hall will be allocated one each.
The four mobile pumps are for Georgetown and they will service Church Street, Sussex Street and Ruimveldt south outfall channels.
Asked how it was that the Ministry of Agriculture was providing a service to the city and if it was that the city council approached the ministry for support, Holder said that during the course of this year, Government deliberated on the entire drainage and irrigation situation in the country. Coming out of those deliberations, he said, Cabinet instructed a sub-committee that included the Minister of Public Infrastructure, to look at the best ways to address the flooding situation across the country.
Cabinet approved the recommendations that were made by that sub-committee and gave the responsibility of drainage and irrigation across the country and for primary drainage canals and outfalls in the Georgetown area, to the NDIA.
When the four mobile pumps arrive from India, Holder said, they will be the responsibility of the NDIA, however, the Georgetown City Council will be responsible for internal drainage in the wards of the city.
Asked about the $320 million allocated for a number of projects under the project title, flood risk management project, how much was allocated for the design and construction of a pump station at Liliendaal when Liliendaal was also under the jurisdiction of the Georgetown City Council, Holder reiterated that primary drainage was now the concern of the NDIA.
Questioned again about the cost, design and construction of the pump station, Holder said the sum of $15 million was allocated for the design but he did not say when construction will begin when asked if construction will start this year.
The $320 million is also for the rehabilitation of sections of the East Demerara Water Conservancy embankment, hydrology and hydraulic modelling of the East Demerara Water Conservancy and procurement of earth-moving equipment.
On concerns expressed that the NDIA – as the sole entity responsible for drainage and irrigation – would be withdrawing support for water users associations, Holder said, the NDIA is not going into any place to destroy systems that are working or to take away jobs from anyone.
