“We have our confidence in you!”- Mahaicony flood victims tell Min. Patterson

─ permanent engineer to oversee emergency works

DPI, Guyana, Friday, October 4, 2019

Residents of Mahaicony, who were affected by the floods brought about by the recent spring tide, have expressed their resounding confidence in Minister of Public Infrastructure, Hon. David Patterson to seal the breaches at the earthen embankment.

“With everything that you’ve said, we have our confidence in you, and we’re going to stay strong. Thank you very much,” said Onica Prince, a resident of Rebecca’s Lust, Mahaicony.

[In the photo, from left to right] A resident of Rebecca’s Lust, Onica Prince and Minister of Public Infrastructure, Hon. David Patterson.

A section of residents at the meeting.

A section of residents at the meeting.

A section of residents at the meeting.

She was at the time addressing Minister Patterson, who was in the community as part of a follow-up visit, on Thursday, to update residents on the path forward on sealing the sea defence breaches.

Onica, a subsistence farmer, is among some of the persons who were affected by the breach of the sea defence following the abnormal spring tide. The spring tide would have washed away produce and increased the salinity of the soil. Nevertheless, the residents are supporting the minister in his efforts to ensure the breach is sealed.

At this current stage, it is estimated that 50,000 tonnes of boulders are needed to execute emergency works along the impacted area between Dantzig and Fairfield.

Additionally, numerous excavators are extracting mud from the Bellamy Canal to build a wall behind the existing boulders along the foreshore. This is to facilitate the traffic of equipment and materials to the sites that were breached.

Minister Patterson has pledged to facilitate the placement of a permanent engineer at Mahaicony. The engineer will oversee the ongoing emergency works so that residents can be able to access information concerning the progress made.

To further enhance the information sharing between the residents and the on-site engineer, the Public Infrastructure Minister said he will ask the Woodland-Farm Neighborhood Democratic Council (NDC) to nominate an overseer. This person will be paid a stipend and begin working on Monday, October 7.

Government has estimated that 400 households across 65 coastal communities have been affected by the spring tide that lasted September 26 to October 2. In response, the twenty-four-hour National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) was activated.

The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and ministerial teams are coordinating the disaster relief efforts throughout the impacted areas.