Region 9 drought affecting businesses – Minister

…GWI to provide relief

As residents of South and North Rupununi villages in Region Nine, (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) continue to face the harsh effects of the dry weather season, Business Minister Dominic Gaskin said it is affecting the business community in the region.
Minister Gaskin told Guyana Times in an invited comment that the prolonged dry weather facing Region Nine is having an impact on farmers and it’s also affecting the commercial areas. “If you drive through Lethem, you’ll see people driving through Lethem’s commercial zone with trucks wetting the road because it’s extremely dusty and messy,” he said.
Minister Gaskin said the problem is largely an agricultural problem; not only in Lethem but the entire Rupununi region. He expressed hope that the the rains come so that the farmers can reap or cultivate their crops for the season.
Residents from that region had reached out to this publication and complained that they are suffering as a result of the dry season and are pleading with the Administration to offer any relief it can to help cushion the impact it is having on their livelihood.
In an invited comment, Region Nine Chairman Bryan Allicock confirmed to Guyana Times on Tuesday last that residents are in dire need of relief. He said the villages faced with drought include those such as Katoka in central Rupununi and Katoonarib, and other villages in both North and South Rupununi.
He explained that the villages that are experiencing severe drought are those that have hand dug wells, since they have now dried up, and residents have tried digging deeper but to no avail. He called for more drilled wells to be built in an effort to cushion the effects of the dry weather in the future.
Meanwhile, the Guyana Water Inc (GWI) in a statement late last week said it has recognised the effects of the dry weather season and have made significant efforts to alleviate the effects by drilling several wells in the region.
According to the release, these efforts include wells in the areas of Aishalton, Annai, Karasabai, Aranaputa, Nappi, Hiawa, St Ignatius and Sand Creek – the latter of which is an initiative of GWI, the Regional Democratic Council and the Pan-American Health Organisation.
GWI said it has also requested a supplemental budget to drill new wells in other communities in 2019.
The utility company highlighted that with regard to the communities of Katoka and Katoonarib where residents are severely affected, an engineering assessment will be made on April 23 and 24 respectively and this will provide for both immediate relief and long-term solutions.