Latest update December 23rd, 2024 3:40 AM
City to be drained off within few days – Public Infrastructure Minister
…Says neglect of infrastructure “criminal”
As huge sections of Georgetown continue to be inundated with floodwaters, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, estimates that the city should be drained off within a few days.
Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson
That is, of course, if there is no further downpour, Minister David Patterson said.
During a press conference, yesterday, to update the public on what is being done to relieve the flood situation, Patterson said that interventions have been put in place to deal with the floods.
He said that though the water has receded in certain areas, several other areas are still under water.
However, he said, he was advised that all of these affected areas would be cleared “within 48 hours, barring further downpour”.
According to the Minister, not all six of the city pumps were operational. At the time of the press conference, the Sussex Street pump was operational, while the Riverview and JP Santos pumps, were expected to be operational by early evening. Nonetheless, he predicted that all six pumps will be functional by this evening.
Furthermore, he said, urgent desiltation efforts will be conducted in four outfall channels –Kingston, Lamaha Street, Sussex Street and Meadowbank South. He added that a team will be able to give cost estimates soon and this amount of money will in turn be requested from Cabinet.
Additionally, his Ministry will be seeking the assistance of the City Council and the Ministry of Communities to deal with blockages. “Blockages have been retarding the rate in which we can drain the city so we’ve agreed jointly…to seek some assistance from the Ministry of Communities,” he said.
However, though the Minister said plans are underway to deal with the flood situation, he admitted that finances posed an issue to the work.
“We hope that the Ministry of Finance is adequately resourced,” Patterson said. He continued, “The issue is…the Minister of Finance has reported that he still cannot ascertain what is available to the country in a sense…There are several non-budgetary accounts all around and he’s still trying to get to the bottom of it. That has been the dilemma in which he is faced.”
He added that the neglect of infrastructure over an extended period of time to be “criminal”.
“If you look at them, I’d almost consider it a criminal activity; to see the condition in which the outfalls are. I know there’s neglect and one stage beyond neglect, I reckon, is criminal,” Patterson said.
He further said that the amount of money, manpower and property lost in dealing with neglect was unnecessary.
“These outfalls have been here since the creation of the city of Georgetown…so it’s almost criminal to neglect them to this extent which would affect the citizenry of Georgetown,” he added.
According to Patterson, the amount of rainfall expected over the next few days has been downgraded to less than 50mm, a figure, he said, can be handled by the ministry.
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