Gov’t seeking $10 billion supplementary funding for flood relief

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, says the government will be approaching the National Assembly on Thursday for $10 billion supplementary funds to aid its ongoing flood-relief efforts.

Dr. Jagdeo made this statement during his guest appearance on “GlobeSpan 24×7” Monday evening.

He said the supplementary financing will be used to repair infrastructure, specifically roads and bridges that have been damaged by the nationwide flooding.  Support will also be given to farmers, miners and families whose livelihoods were destroyed by the natural disaster.

“We have had unusual levels of rainfall and extreme high tides, and tomorrow I am told that the next wave of high tides will start.

This will further complicate matters… The forecast is iffy. We hope that the rain will subside so that we can return to economic activities,” the VP said.

The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) has established shelters in Lethem and others areas in Region Nine and Kwakwani, Region 10 for persons forced to abandon their homes.  More than 100 persons have moved to the shelter in Kwakwani.

“I can understand the level of frustration and concern, but I can assure people that the Government will assist,” he said.

Dr. Jagdeo said if it had not been for the Hope Canal, which a previous PPP/C Government established, and which came under heavy scrutiny, the situation on the East Coast Demerara would have been worse.

To bring further relief to East Coast residents, he noted that the Government is holding discussions on creating bypass canals. These canals, he said, would drain directly into the Atlantic Ocean.

Meanwhile, the CDC has since distributed close to 30,000 hampers to nine regions affected by flooding. The Commission said on Sunday that since May 18, some 15,960 food and 13,894 cleaning hampers have been distributed.