MOA sets record straight on Liliendaal Pump Station
– SN Editorial misrepresenting the facts
The Ministry of Agriculture once again finds it obligatory to correct what is either willful misrepresentation at best, or inept reporting, regarding one of several pump stations currently under construction.
The Liliendaal Pump station was featured in your columns for the first time on March 14, 2023, and never again until February 6, 2024. During this period, the works on the pump station progressed ahead of schedule, with several key elements such as the deep foundation, toe and tanking piles, and all major concrete works being completed. Regrettably, modern journalism has devolved to the extent that it is now indistinguishable from sensationalism, and serves only to bolster newspaper sales.
While we appreciate and acknowledge the role of the fourth estate, it is necessary also for media outlets to conduct themselves in a manner befitting of the title. The Ministry of Agriculture must therefore clarify that works on the new pump station have reached a stage where three critical activities are occurring off-site: (1) the overseas construction and subsequent delivery of the pump units, (2) the fabrication of the discharge pipes which will transmit the drainage load from the pump station to the outfall and (3) the structural elements for the Pump house are being fabricated.
The Supervisory Consultants hired to manage the implementation of the project remain attentive to the progress of the works and have adequate monitoring systems in place to properly manage both the schedule and cost components. It is not certain to what extent efforts were made by Stabroek News to contact the Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, but it is certain that should any official communication have been sent, this update would have been provided, and the attempt made to sensationalize and misrepresent the efforts of the Government to alleviate the flooding woes, could have been avoided.
The Government of Guyana remains committed to transparency and accountability, and we continue to work towards the improvement of the drainage systems all across Guyana.