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Good Success residents protest clogged trench
The current state of the clogged trench that cannot be cleaned by the NDC
Kaieteur News – Residents of Good Success Housing Scheme, Wakenaam, Region Three on Wednesday last staged a protest over a clogged trench in their community that is filled with stagnant and smelly water. According to the residents, the trench has been that way for 20 years, causing severe flooding in the area and an infestation of poisonous snakes in their homes.
However, what is making them extremely angry is the alleged neglect by the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) of Wakenaam and the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) to address the problem they face.
Wakenaam residents protesting over the clogged trench.
“All we are asking for,” said one resident, Ashley Luke, “is for them to clear the trench so the water could flow out”.
“I have a three year old child and a morning she wake-up and she actually saw a snake in the house and she said, ‘mammy come see a snake’, I don’t know if it is a poisonous snake or what but I had to call my husband to come and get rid of it, suppose now that snake been bite her, these people really need to get this trench fix,” Luke told Kaieteur News.
Another woman said, “They are going around saying this is a government for all but what about the residents of Good Success, like dem fuget we”.
This is not the first time that the Good Success residents have pleaded with the relevant authorities to help them out. They have written letters to Chairman of their NDC and even had a meeting with him but got no positive response.
In fact, they had decided to make a public call for help via this media house on December 4, 2022. Kaieteur New had reported that Wakenaam residents were fuming over the clogged trench.
The letter written to the Region Three RDC in March, 2022
Residents had explained that the clogged trench measures 350ft in length and serves as a boundary between Good Success and other communities in Wakenaam. However, because of years of neglect, the trench got filled up with silt preventing proper drainage of waste water from Good Success.
The water that enters the clogged trench, according to residents, would become stagnant and start to smell bad. When the rain falls it would overflow and cause severe flooding. Apart from that, residents had related that it has become inhabited with poisonous snakes that would invade their homes.
They also highlighted that the condition of the trench could spread diseases.
Kaieteur News had reached out to the Chairman of the NDC, Tareeq Ahmad and he had said overgrown bushes were cleared from the trench but the silt could not be removed because the excavator cannot access the area to do so. He had explained that the only way for a machine to access the area is via a dam that is privately owned. Ahmad had related that the dam is a part of a private estate, and its owner in the past had allowed the NDC to use it. However, the owner reportedly sold the dam to another man and that individual does not want the excavator to be there. Ahmad had said the man showed the NDC a sale agreement proving that he had legally purchased the area.
On the other hand, residents had disputed this and have said that the dam is a part of the government’s reserve and cannot have a private owner.
Ahmad however, had pointed out that there are other reserve lands that can be used for access to the trench, but residents have fenced that off too. He claimed that the NDC had written the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission (GLSC) to conduct a survey of the area, remark the boundaries, and provide a solution regarding the dispute.
Seven months have passed since Ahmad told Kaieteur News this and to date the trench remains clogged.
Driven by frustration, residents have decided to protest the sorry state of affairs so that relevant authorities can hear their voice once and for all. If this does not work, they have signaled their intentions to travel to the city and stage a protest in front of the President’s office.
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