Better safe than sorry

Jun 17, 2015 Editorial

In most cases in life it is not how one starts a meaningful pursuit as it is how one finishes. The PPP, a little less than a decade ago, started out badly by not fulfilling the promises it made to the people during the 2006 election campaign and ended up with a minority government in 2011. In 2015, the party lost a close election, which essentially meant that it finished worse than when it started out four years earlier.
The reason was that the high levels of corruption and crime continued, there was spending that was not approved by Parliament and an impending no-confidence vote by the opposition which led to the prorogation of Parliament. There was autocratic rule along with secret deals. The people were fed-up.
It should be no surprise that despite the pageantry at the inaugural observances, the David Granger-led coalition government started out badly as well, not of its own volition but because of what it inherited. Shortly after taking office, the new government quickly discovered a treasury overdrawn by billions, mismanagement of finances and resources in many of the ministries, a country divided along racial lines, but worse of all, it was greeted with widespread flooding, in most cases due to neglect. It was a bad omen.
That said, residing in Guyana and enjoying the privilege of generally good weather still seem to be encouraging in some ways. Many Guyanese who migrated to the more prosperous developed countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, and have experienced bitterly cold winters, at times express the genuine desire to return. This proves that there is no place like home. But there are also the downsides.
Since the turn of the century, we have been experiencing significant flooding almost every year. This has seriously disrupted people’s lives; it has caused heart-breaking damage, displacement and significant downtime, which have had an adverse effect on the economy.
The recent flooding, especially in Georgetown and its environs, was a lesson for all. Although May-June is recognised as one of our rainy seasons, no one seems to have expected as much precipitation as we have experienced to date; nor did anyone anticipate its impact. It has been ten years since Guyana experienced its most devastating inundation in 2005 which resulted in losses amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Earlier this month, we had a deluge not too dissimilar.
It seems that tens of millions of dollars spent by the former government on drainage and irrigation and to purchase larger pumps for use during heavy rainfall could not cope, and the incoming government was, understandably, largely unprepared for the first flood of 2015.
It was not a pleasant experience for the new administration, especially the Minister of Public Infrastructure who dutifully worked around the clock to deal with the distressing situation. That is why it is critical for the new government not to be complacent. It should develop a comprehensive strategic plan to manage the effects of flooding countrywide.
In Guyana, unusually heavy rainfall or any other natural disaster could setback national development by several years. So, while the nation hopes for the best, it is still wise for the government to prepare for the worst. Preparedness obviously is not an insurance policy against disaster. If it is to happen, it will. The laws of nature determine our fate. The benefit of preparedness, however, is that with some measure of confidence the government will know precisely what to do when disaster strikes, instead of having to react in a knee-jerk fashion, stricken by panic, which could only make matters worse. Whatever the circumstances, it is better to play it safe than to be sorry.

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