PM Phillips leads Ministerial outreach to flood-affected Region Nine

– 800 pounds of food supplies given to Gunns Strip

Prime Minister Hon. Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips on Saturday visited Gunns Strip and Sand Creek, Region Nine to have a first-hand look, and to make an assessment of flooding in the Region.

During the outreach, the Prime Minister also distributed over 800 pounds of foodstuff at Gunns Strip. The supplies number among the 2,000 food hampers the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) delivered to Region Nine as part of its ongoing flood relief efforts there.

The Prime Minister’s team also included Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Hon. Deodat Indar; Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Hon. Pauline Sukhai and other government officials.

Speaking to DPI, the Prime Minister said: “Both Gunns and Sand Creek were affected by the flooding, water is still on the lands there, the farms are affected. I think I would say destroyed; the crops are destroyed. So, they will now have to depend on the efforts by the Civil Defence Commission.

And, as you know, the Director [General] of the Civil Defence Commission Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig was deployed into the Rupununi area prior to our visit, and the CDC would have done their impact assessment and they would have already started to distribute relief supplies to those affected communities. And the relief supplies we are talking about food hampers, sanitation hampers.”

The Prime Minister noted that there are enough supplies in the CDC bond in Lethem to continue distribution.  He also noted that water is receding from most areas, but there must be continued monitoring during the rainy season.

PM Phillips also said Region Nine is likely to experience more flooding if the waters in the Rio Branco and Rio Negro Rivers in Brazil continue to rise.

“They have passed the worst in the sense that the water has receded. However, we can see a lot of homes were affected by this flood. We have a couple of families in the [Tabatinga Sports Complex] shelter,” he said.

The Prime Minister said villagers in Sand Creek and Gunns Strip were welcoming and are thankful for the relief items from the CDC.

“I think that is what people expect in a time of disaster, that the Government whether it is Central Government or Regional Government, can quickly offer whatever relief efforts to help them to deal with the difficult situation that they are in right now.”

The PM said he is satisfied with the work conducted by the CDC and the regional authorities to date, to provide support and relief to villages affected by the flood.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister encouraged residents to get inoculated against COVID-19.

“I ask all the people from all the communities to come forward and take the vaccine. We expect them to continue to observe the COVID-19 measures but more particularly, to come forward and take the vaccine because we have enough vaccines.

We have adequate vaccines in the Region for all the communities and we want all the people to come forward and take the vaccine.”

Additionally, the CDC Director General said the flood waters were high because the water had risen in the Ireng, Takutu and Rupununi rivers.  He said with the increased rainfall as the wet season emerges, the water raised unusually high.

The CDC has already established a shelter to house at least 36 people in Lethem. The regional authorities have also established shelters at the Tabatinga Sports Complex, Arapaima Primary School and Culvert City Nursery School.

Lt. Col. Craig said agriculture was mostly affected. 

“The main impacts are the farmlands. What we have observed too because of heavy rainfall, some of the homes, the walls because of the type of structure, became saturated and a few of them collapsed.

But the waters are receding in most of the communities, but what you find because of the saturation of the soil from the long period, it has an impact on cassava and other crops. So, what the farmers are doing, they are now harvesting very early and they are trying to make farine and cassava bread et cetera for their families.”

Moreover, the Minister within the Ministry of Public Works conducted assessments at the Pirara, Poke and Yupukari bridges to check for damages. Minister Indar noted that the Yupukari bridge is still under construction and is scheduled to be completed in two weeks.

He said emergency works are ongoing at Mango Bridge after reports were made that the bridge was shifting. He also recommended that the road from Annai to Lethem be upgraded. Minister Indar also said repairs are needed on all 38 bridges from Linden to Lethem.

The Minister of Amerindian Affairs also engaged Tabatinga residents affected by the flooding. Minister Sukhai assured them that the Government would continue to support them during the flooding.

In total, 12 villages have already benefited from relief hampers. These include Shea, Aishalton, Baitoon and Katoonarib.

Some 2,600 food hampers have been prepared. Of that sum, 2,300 has been handed over to the Region. some 300 of the hampers were purchased by the Regional Democratic Council. The CDC has also procured 2000 sanitation hampers to be distributed in Region Nine.  The water purification tablets and locally made cloth masks that were promised by the CDC have also been provided to the Region.