By Mark DaCosta- The recent flooding in Linden, in Region 10 has brought to light a deep-seated issue of neglect by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government. The PPP regime, attempting to deflect blame, has pointed fingers at the Linden Town Council for the disaster. However, Mayor Sharma Raheem Solomon has issued a comprehensive statement offering a detailed counter-narrative.
On Monday night, torrential rains began to lash Linden, continuing relentlessly into Tuesday. This led to severe flooding across several communities on both the Mackenzie and Wismar shores, including Kara Kara, Rainbow City, Victory Valley, Speightland, and Noitgedacht. In central Mackenzie, the business district was heavily affected, causing a substantial slowdown in commercial activities. Residents, attempting to go about their daily lives, found themselves wading through floodwaters, while many homes were inundated with up to two feet of water. This flooding caused significant damage to personal property, including furniture and home appliances.
Mayor Solomon attributed this disaster to the government’s prolonged neglect of Linden’s drainage and irrigation systems. He pointed out the absence of necessary desilting of critical waterways such as the Hymara Creek, which, if cleared, could have significantly reduced the flooding. Solomon highlighted that despite a recent expenditure of $77 million, the central government failed to engage in essential consultative work with local authorities, exacerbating the town’s vulnerability.
The PPP government, in its response to the flooding, claimed to have activated a multi-agency effort to address the issue. The Ministry of Public Works announced that technical teams, alongside the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and BOSAI Minerals Company, had been dispatched to assess and mitigate the situation. The government also engaged private contractors to clear blocked drains in Wismar and Mackenzie. Additionally, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) set up two shelters to accommodate displaced residents, located at Egbert Benjamin Hall and another undisclosed location.
However, these assurances are met with skepticism by many Guyanese, particularly given the PPP’s historical neglect of Linden. The PPP’s claim that Linden’s high per capita budget should have better prepared it for such natural disasters is seen as an excuse that fails to address the real issues of underinvestment and inadequate infrastructure.
Mayor Solomon’s statement has been viewed as a credible reflection of the situation on the ground in Linden. Speaking directly to Village Voice News, Solomon detailed systemic issues that have plagued the town’s infrastructure. He emphasised that the Ministry of Local Government had removed key maintenance responsibilities from the Council, assigning them instead to Community Development Councils (CDCs) and the CIIP Project. This shift, he argued, undermined local governance and accountability, contributing to the current crisis.
Solomon criticised the central government’s recent cleanup efforts, which overlooked critical areas like the Hymara, Wakanaboo, and Katakara creeks. He noted that despite repeated requests for support, the Council was excluded from decision-making processes, leading to poorly planned and executed infrastructure projects. The Mayor called for immediate and substantial assistance, including funding for emergency services, infrastructure repair, and support for displaced residents.
Below is the full text of Mayor Sharma Raheem Solomon’s statement:
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“As our thoughts and prayers are with fellow Lindeners regarding the severe flooding and erosion that recently affected our town, these events have caused significant damage to homes, businesses, and public infrastructure, leaving many in our community facing hardships and uncertainty.
The suffering and losses brought upon residents are as a result of the government’s mismanagement of services that were removed by the Ministry of Local Government from the oversight of the council’s mandate as stipulated in 28:01. These responsibilities were instead given to Community Development Councils (CDC) and the CIIP Project, which includes the cleaning and maintenance of drains, cleaning of soakaways, and even parapets. It must be noted that 13 of these CDC chairpersons across the town of Linden are candidates for the 2023 Local Government Elections, and its directors are former PPP/C Councillors. The CIIP Project employs monthly workers at $70,000 and seasonal CDC workers at $25,000 for maintenance of these municipal assets.
The council, at its last Statutory meeting, highlighted the root causes of these issues, which lie in long-standing neglect and inadequate infrastructural works. Despite repeated requests for support and intervention, even for the Linden Town Week preparations, from higher levels of government, the council has not received the necessary resources and attention to address these needs. The government’s refusal to include the council as outlined in article 13 to participate meaningfully in the decision-making process resulted in the council’s exclusion from working with and giving advice for sound infrastructural and drainage decisions within the town.
The recent flag-raising cleanup project, where the government spent tens of millions of dollars, overlooked the cleaning and clearing of main creeks, such as the Hymara, Wakanaboo, and Katakara creeks, which has proven ineffective over the past 48 hours of addressing the issue of flooding and erosion across the town. Other infrastructural works, such as roads and bridges, have had their structural integrity compromised due to the absence of drains to accompany these recently constructed roads, such as Ice Water Road and several footpaths in the Victory Valley area, against the advice of the council, who, along with residents, had publicly protested this and were labelled anti-development.
The recent floods have exposed the deficiencies in our drainage systems, the inadequacy of our erosion control measures, and the overall fragility of our infrastructure with the need for studies of drainage networks across the town. These problems are not new; they are the result of years of underinvestment and neglect.
I read a very incoherent statement by the Prime Minister regarding the devastating floods that affected the town. Instead of ensuring that the systems that would correct these works and the council being allowed to do its work would have avoided all this disaster, I must express my disappointment and concern over the central government’s handling of this crisis and the apparent political maneuvering that has impacted the provision of adequate resources.
The floods have caused significant hardship, displacing families, damaging infrastructure, and disrupting daily life. In times of such dire need, our focus must be solely on providing immediate relief and support to those affected, regardless of political affiliations. Unfortunately, the response from the central government has fallen short of the necessary support required to effectively address this disaster.
Our requests for additional resources and assistance have been met with delays and insufficient support, leaving our community to bear the brunt of this catastrophe with limited means. This is not a time for political gamesmanship; it is a time for unified action and solidarity to alleviate the suffering of our people.
I urge the central government to set aside political differences and prioritize the needs of our community. We require immediate and substantial assistance to manage the flood relief efforts effectively. This includes funding for emergency services, infrastructure repair, and support for displaced residents and cash grants for those who suffered losses.
Furthermore, I call for a comprehensive review of our current disaster preparedness and response strategies to ensure that such situations do not occur again. This review should meaningfully involve stakeholders such as the Municipality, RDC, experts, and community representatives to develop a robust and coordinated approach to future crises.
Our primary responsibility is to our citizens, and it is important that we work together to restore normalcy and rebuild our community. The Council is committed to collaborating with the central government to achieve this goal, but it requires a genuine commitment to action over politics.
This is a challenging time for our community, but I am confident that, with solidarity and cooperation, we can overcome this crisis and emerge stronger.”