KINGSTON, Georgetown – Some GYD$20M from the Public Works Ministry’s coffer has been pumped into the capital city cleanup efforts so far for the year.
The subject Minister, Hon. Robeson Benn made this disclosure at the last Parliamentary sitting where he was quizzed by A Partnership For National Unity (APNU), Volda Lawrence, about his ministry’s plans to alleviate flooding in several communities located in the southern Georgetown communities.
The areas gravely affected include Kaikan and Well Streets, as well as, the neighborhood between Gaulding Place and Rosa Drive.
However, Hon. Benn pointed out that while the Ministry is doing its part, funds are stretched to the limit.
“We have been spending $20M in Georgetown recently where we have done a lot of work repairing bridges in Georgetown…and streets and digging out canals and drains. Immediately we do not have the resources and it does not help anyway if from our budget monies are taken away by the Parliament for works which are important, and then we have to spread around the rest over a lot of works which we are not supposed to be dealing with,” he charged to members of Parliament (MPs).
While he acknowledged that communities in south Georgetown are prone to flooding, his Ministry cannot do more that what it’s doing. He charged that “fixing the problem” should be placed at the door of City Hall.
“We have attempted and we have gone around from time to time to clear up trenches and canals but this for the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) of the city of Georgetown and the Hon. Member [Ms. Lawrence] who is the member of a Committee and is fully well aware where this task lies….the Hon. Member is fully well aware that the M&CC has this task to undertake. I admit that we have done much work in the City, which otherwise is the responsibility of the City council and in fact it [cleanup] has taken over much of the time we should have and resources too which we should be expending in other areas and other communities.”
Works Ministry assessment
Two years ago the Ministry did an assessment to ascertain the factors attributed to the prolonged flooding in South Georgetown, Hon. Benn announced.
‘The assessment revealed that the canals were blocked with vegetation but also the tertiary drainage was not operating because many persons in these residential areas have built entrance levels of varying heights over the drains and were in fact impeding the drainage not to mention the squatting along the main canals and trenches [in South Georgetown],” he told MPs.
And while the Works Minister is mindful of the residents’ plight, he made it clear that his hands are tied in rendering any assistance “at this time”.
“The excavators which could have been used to assist are currently in Bartica to deal with a garbage and road situation,’ he said. He further stated that the M&CC has five excavators but only one is operational. “We had offered that if they had given us the listing of the parts which could have been bought to repair the excavators that we could have seen how we could have assisted. We have not heard anything on the matter.”
KINGSTON, Georgetown – “Our country will always remain poor, backward and underdeveloped if we cannot address the question of [hydro] power,” declared Hon. Robeson Benn, Minister of Public Works and Communications on Thursday, July 18 during the National Assembly sitting.
He was at the time trying to convince the country’s opposition members to support the US$840M Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, which is predicted to greatly ease the cost of electricity to Guyanese.
“We have always said that the missing term in our development equation is cheap power…when we look at our waterfalls all we see is power going to waste,” Hon. Benn stated. “…here we now have the ability in our Parliament to make the kind of decisions which would solve this great problem in our country.”
But despite his pleas to the members of the combined Opposition to throw their weight behind the project for the country’s in, they used their one vote majority – 32 to 31- to shut down the debate on the Hydro Electric Power Amendment Bill, which would place the [Amaila] project on par with the standards set out by one of the projects major backers – the Inter Development Bank (IDB).
In addition to that, the Opposition voted against a Motion to increase the limit of guarantee given on the Guarantee of Loans (Public Corporations and Companies) Act.
However, the action was slammed by His Excellency President Donald Ramotar. In a televised statement issued on Friday, the country’s president lamented that the move was “an act of terrorism”.
“Their actions now place the project, the largest in Guyana’s history, in jeopardy,” H.E Ramotar stressed.
KINGSTOWN, Georgetown – Hon. Robeson Benn, the country’s Public Works Minister, has commended the pilot of Trans Guyana for “keeping her wits” that saved the lives of 11 passengers in Mabaruma, Region 1 yesterday, July 15, 2012. Veteran pilot Ferial Ally crashed landed the 12 seater Cessna at Mabaruma Airstrip after confronting some treacherous weather conditions. No one was seriously hurt. “From the initial reports that I am previewed to I have to say that her actions have to be applauded. Her years of experience saved her and her passengers lives,” Hon. Benn stated. The incident occurred around 8:20 am, while Captain Ally was about to land on the airstrip. The aircraft had left Ogle Airport at 7:20.
KINGSTON, Georgetown - A team of officials from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) travelled to Matthews Ridge, Region One today and undertook investigations and recovery, shortly after the crash of an Air Services Ltd plane carrying 11 passengers, and the pilot. According to Zulicar Ally, head of the aviation agency, a four member team is currently combing the area of the crash site. “We have everything under control and as soon as we have review what we have collected we will let the public know,” Mr. Ally said. Bad weather was the reason cited for the crash which was piloted by Captain Feriel Ally.
