Latest update April 17th, 2025 9:50 AM
Morawhanna – the village that the administration forgot – Residents
The condition of the schoolyard at Morawhanna during the low tide.
By Gary Eleazar
Morawhanna is a small fishing/farming community in the Barima River in Region One, close to the Venezuelan border.
Its residents are currently of the view that they have been abandoned.
One reason is the fact that the fishing complex that provided the several fishermen from neighbouring communities with a facility to preserve their fish so that they can be transported to far flung areas such as Port Kaituma is no longer operational and the promise of new Trinidadian ownership now seems elusive.
The complex has been closed for several weeks now and no change is in sight according to one of the residents.
“It is as if Morawhanna is the village that the administration forgot,” he said on the condition of anonymity, citing a fear of victimization.
The complex had also provided desperately needed employment for several in the village plus there was the off shoot of persons mooring at the complex given that they would conduct business at the few shops that exists.
“Ever since that place closed, business just get very slow.”
The Guyana Oil Company (GUYOIL) has also shut shop in that community and has abandoned a depot that it had in place to provide fuel for the fisherman and others in the community as well as the surrounding communities that would seek out fuel there.
The resident added, that there is another ailment in the community that has been affecting them for years now, is the consistent flooding that has been afflicting them.
This has been attributed to the damaged sluice door that has been inoperable for several years now.
The door has been in a state of decay and cannot be used. At low tide the water still manages to flow over it and at high tide the community is inundated.
The residents say that a Hymac was transported to the community eight years ago, to improve the drainage and irrigation in the village but only worked for three days and has been parked ever since. Most of the critical parts of the Hymac have since disappeared.
The residents in the area are also calling on the Agriculture Ministry to have another piece of equipment transported to the area to create proper drainage systems given that the land is fertile and they are willing to farm but could not presently do this.
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