| Alliance for Change (AFC) presidential candidate, Khemraj Ramjattan, says that the AFC will consider suing the relevant authorities in Region Five for flooding in several West Berbice farming areas such as Bath Settlement and Woodley Park.Some 300 farmers experienced losses to their cash crops like celery and eschallot. They estimated their losses at over $200M.“When you take the inconvenience, the water went three feet into some of their houses by the time the GuySuCo people start pumping out the water. So not only the celery was killed and the crops and all of that, but the inconvenience; it got a value to it”, he said. The comments were made during a visit by the AFC team to Berbice on Saturday.Many farmers had complained of losses as a result of immense flooding a few weeks ago during the heavy rains. That situation was compounded after GuySuCo pumped water into the residential areas.They alleged that the sugar company has been flooding their areas, destroying their crops in the process so that they would return to the cane fields. Many estate workers have been taking on small- scale farming to supplement their meagre incomes.Ramjattan blamed the flooding experienced by the residents on Government malpractice at the Drainage and Irrigation (D&I) levels.“You know GuySuCo don’t pay big wages these days. GuySuCo has big problems, one of which is that workers are not, in any way, going back to the cane fields in any big way as they used to”, Ramjattan said.“When the rain falls, they [ GuySuCo] literally flood them out.”He noted that a sluice at the back of Bath Settlement, which should have brought relief to the farmers in the area, is not working, hence, the flood situation.He said that the AFC is demanding that the authorities make the sluice workable and compensate those farmers. A list of more than 200 names of farmers along with crop losses was compiled by him and a team who recently visited the area.Their names, telephone numbers and estimated value of losses were also recorded and an assessment was done.Ramjattan further added that should the authorities not compensate the farmers, the matter would be taken to court. “It was the negligence of GuySuCo and the Region [Five] that caused the losses to occur.”Region Five Chairman, Harrinarine Baldeo, countered Ramjattan’s comments by saying that the AFC does not have a good understanding of the layout of the West Berbice area and that the blame should not be at the feet of only GuySuCo.Leader of the AFC, Raphael Trotman,NFL Jerseys Outlet, stated that while he understood Baldeo’s statements, the current administration has had years to get the flooding situation on the West Coast of Berbice under control.“By now, we should have basic drainage and irrigation worked out whether it be GuySuCo, Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary Development Authority (MMA) or the Region,” he said.Ramajttan alleged that the Regional officials told him to sue GuySuCo and not the Region. He said that he also spoke with an officer at the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and the official allegedly told him that the sugar corporation is responsible for drainage and irrigation in the West Berbice areas that have been affected. Ramjattan said that the authorities are trying desperately to divide the blame but that if the AFC has to sue the four agencies (MMA, GuySuCo, Region Five and NDIA), they will do it.“Indeed it’s an intertwined network, run by the Drainage and Irrigation authority but sometimes under the MMA Act, the responsibility fall under the MMA.But the MMA is owned by the Government of Guyana (GOG), GuySuCo is owned by the GOG, Region Five is literally owned by the GOG and so is the Drainage and Irrigation,” he said.“If it comes to that, all four will be sued and the whole network will be sued, so that the farmers will get their compensation,” he stated. |
