Govt. needs to be proactive when considering the livelihood of all citizens

Jan 06, 2018 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
Region Three Chamber of Commerce and Industry would like to draw attention to the failure of the authorities to act responsibly; as a result, Canal #1 was flooded. This began on December 24, 2017, and to date, members of the community are still affected by the water.
Members of the Chamber visited the community and we noted three salient issues that must also be known to the authorities.
Firstly, Canal #1 is known for flooding, due to the inadequacy of the main canals and lack of alternative arteries for the water to flow off the land.
Secondly, the surrounding communities – namely Canal #2 and La Parfaite Harmonie – also have poorly maintained drainage. Thirdly, Canal #1 is a subsistent community, largely dependent on farming, where a large portion of residents either operate farms or are employed on farms. Residents lamented the fact that this recent flood is the third occasion of flooding in 2017 for their community, due largely to poor maintenance of the drainage canal.
We have been informed that the factors that contributed to the flooding in Canal# 1, was largely due to negligence on the part of the authorities. It was highlighted that the main drain in Canal #1 requires clearing at least twice per month; however, it was only cleared once in December.
Also, the trenches in La Parfaite Harmonie have not been cleared for the better part of 2017 and water from Parfait, which usually flows through Goed Fortuin, was diverted to Canal# 1 earlier in the year, since this may have been perceived as the easier alternative to clearing La Parfaite’s trenches.
Why were drains in Canal#1 only cleaned once in December, even though we are aware that December comes with rain?
We were informed that the Contractor who was hired to maintain the drainage canal was not paid since June 2017; hence he refused to provide additional services in December. Now, how could the relevant authorities be so lacklustre to allow their indebtedness to a contractor to accumulate for five months and ultimately cause discontinuation of a vital service? Negligence!
Why is the second largest housing scheme in Region Three, La Parfaite Harmony, without adequate drainage, and other required infrastructure?
The NDC claims that Central Housing and Planning Authority has not properly handed over the community and therefore responsibility for maintenance of the community is being shirked. So La Parfaite Harmonie was left with clogged-up drains, and water unable to flow through its intended arteries in Goed Fortuin. Then what can now be considered a mistake was the idea to ease the probable flooding in Parfaite by diverting the water to Canal#1. That decision added to woes in Canal#1, although it was not the major contributory factor to the flooding, which according to the Engineer was due to higher than anticipated rainfall and the lack of adequate drainage for such. The drains in La Parfaite were only cleared on Sunday in retroactive response to a crisis in Canal #1. This alleviated a situation which could have been avoided with proper maintenance. Certainly, no one can fault the authorities for the level of rainfall, however, maintenance of infrastructure is within their ambit – there shouldn’t be confusion over which agency is accountable. Additionally, it is expected that during resource allocation, responsibility for execution is clearly defined; therefore the inability to provide payment for works cumulatively for a period of five months is indefensible. What is left of the livelihoods of those residents can only be evaluated after the water has receded. For some, their entire crops were destroyed – pineapple fields submerged in water; others have opened their dwelling to accommodate what remains of their livestock; and some residents have been using old refrigerators as transport to facilitate movement from home to the access road.
It is the earnest opinion of our Chamber that the economic impact to those residents should be addressed by Government, relevant assistance is required to replace their losses and allow those citizens to rebuild their livelihoods.
Dennis Mayers
General Secretary – R3CCI

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