| In the National Assembly yesterday… $500M approved for flood management, water control …AFC voted ‘Yes’, APNU ‘No’ |  |  |  |
| Friday, 11 January 2013 09:20 |
THE National Assembly yesterday approved the supplementary provision of $500M, under Financial Paper No. 6 of 2012, to meet the expenditure associated with flood management and water control. was called, which saw Alliance for Change (AFC) members v  Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy in the National Assembly yesterday Before the vote was taken, however, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) MP, Carl Greenidge asked Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy to inform the House of the plan around which the flood control is taking place. The minister advised that the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) of the Ministry of Agriculture, which deals with flood management and water control, has been making arrangements to acquire additional machinery, and that the supplementary request was to support the ministry in this venture. “The NDIA has consistently sought the Ministry of Agriculture’s support to enhance its equipment and capacity,” he stated. He noted that the authority’s capacity continues to improve each year, even as the demands continue to increase. Dr. Ramsammy further related that the NDIA had previously relied solely on private contractors to perform all its earth work construction for rehabilitation and maintenance programmes. However, he stressed that in recent years, the reliance on these private contractors has been reduced. According to him, this reduced reliance on the private sector has significantly cut cost, enabling the ministry to extend and expand its projects. He pointed out that the NDIA was recently able to complete rehabilitation of all primary and secondary channels in various areas around Guyana, at a cost that is 60 percent less than it would have cost with private contractors. The minister disclosed that presently the NDIA’s fleet of equipment consists of 61 excavators, eight bulldozers and 11 pontoons. At present, he noted, six pontoons are in the East Demerara Water Conservancy. Dr. Ramsammy stated that, for a while now, the NDIA has consistently made a case to move for a significant increase in the fleet size and replacement of some of the machinery. “While there has been provision in each year’s budget for improvement of the fleet, we need a more significant and immediate boost to handle weather related drainage and irrigation challenges,” he said. |
Taken from the Guyana Chronicle
