Latest update April 30th, 2026 12:30 AM
Latest News
- World Bank urges Guyana to guard against volatile revenues and spending surges
- U.S. Ambassador says American companies need peace of mind in Guyana
- Trump vows to maintain Iran blockade, Tehran threatens ‘practical’ action
- Man gets $8M for spending 80 days in jail wrongfully
- ‘Sue cops who demand bribes’ – AG Nandlall urges
Region Six officials lambaste D&I workers for substandard work
Drainage and Irrigation (D&I) workers in Berbice came under fire yesterday as many of their work-related behaviour were revealed to the public by Regional Officials of Region Six.
The workers, along with NDC Chairmen and foremen were summoned to a meeting with Regional Chairman Zulfikar Mustapha and Coordinator of the D&I operations in Berbice.
Some of the D&I workers present during the meeting
The D&I workers were employed by the government a few years ago to clean drains and spruce up the communities in which they are stationed.
During the meeting, the workers were warned that if they fail to perform, their contracts would not be renewed. The D&I workers are employed to work 16 hours per week for $23,700 per month.
It was revealed that the workers are doing substandard cleaning of drains and canals in the communities. They were also accused of doing private work for persons within the communities.
“Some workers are involved in private jobs for payment. If we find those things, we will dismiss you on the spot,” the Chairman warned.
“It’s tantamount to fraud if you want to collect Government’s fund and you don’t want to work. We have to have value for our money.”
He also accused the workers of being rude to residents and reminded them that they are not doing the residents a favour.
It was also discussed that the workers are poorly supervised and reporting for work late. “It’s either we perform or we go”.
According to Regional Chairman, Zulfikar Mustapha, there has not been much positive feedback from the communities about the performance of the irrigation workers.
“Nearly every day we have negative reports. Some of you are time-watchers. Four hours of work means four hours of work, not three-and-a-half hours,” the workers were warned.
“Many times when you traverse the region, you find workers sitting down on the roadside; you cannot find the foremen. Sometimes the groups work by themselves,” he said.
“Workers are skylarking on the road”. He said that the government has spent $720M on the D&I programme in 2010 and urged the workers to give value for money.
He said that the internal drains are not properly cleaned by the workers and that this is causing immense flooding.
“We will not tolerate it. If the workers are not being supervised by the foremen, we will terminate the services. If you cannot satisfy that condition, let us part company, comrades,” Mustapha urged the workers.
At the end of the meeting, a quantity of tools was distributed to the workers.
Each worker received a pair of long boots, a cutlass and file, raincoats, and first- aid kits for every D&I group represented. (Leon Suseran)
Share this:
Discover more from Kaieteur News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.