The
level of the water on the land was not
dropping as fast as those in charge of
the emergency `Operation Floodgate’’
would like and a top official said they
desperately need more secure boats to
get to those stranded by the flood
waters.““We just don’’t have enough secure boats and the flood situation is still very serious””, the official told the Chronicle.
As foreign governments stepped up their response to the Guyana Government’’s appeal for help in the disaster, the top-ranking official said that if ““people keep living in that much water, there could be serious health problems”” and evacuating them was still an option.
Dr. Mike Sarhan, Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) office here, said the U.S. was bringing in five shallow bottom boats from Suriname for the relief drive, and was trying to source seven more.
He said getting the boats and drainage pumps here was ““a top priority””.
Sarhan gave the update on the U.S. support while he was at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport at Timehri for the arrival of a chartered aircraft of flood relief supplies valued at more than G$14M from the U.S.
The supplies were given to the Red Cross for direct distribution to flood victims and for allotting to other non-governmental organisations.
The government has been spearheading a massive relief distribution drive with an outpouring of support from organisations, companies, churches and other groups.
Officials said tens of thousands have been affected by the floods spawned by the heaviest rainfall here in more than 100 years.
Medical teams have also been deployed in flood-hit communities and preparations are under way for a massive fogging and spraying exercise after the waters recede.
The government yesterday announced that more pumps were being deployed to drain water from the East Coast, the hardest-hit part of the coastal belt.
Residents said the water which has been chest-high in many villages was going down slowly and an official said patrols were monitoring the East Demerara water conservancy dam to check for seepage.
““The water should have gone down much more by now but it has not and we need to find out where it’’s coming from””, he said.
Mr. Ravi Narine, Chief Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Board (NDIB) yesterday told the Government Information Agency (GINA) the water is expected to recede in seven days.
He added that it fell by about a foot on the East Coast yesterday.
““Positive signs are being shown that the water level is being reduced and sustained””, he told the agency.
Narine said an aerial survey by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) has indicated that a main dam in the conservancy was now visible.
“2“The conservancy dam has been tested to its ultimate. I am surprised that many more cracks were not seen. The government has invested a lot of money through the Inter-American Development Bank initiative to ensure the dam is sustained. Because of the investment we have seen positive results””, he said.
Water flowing over the dam of the swollen conservancy has been blamed for worsening the flooding from the record rains but officials have assured that it has not been breached.
Overseas experts working with the Joint Operations Centre (JOC) and the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) are assessing the situation on the ground and this will help local officials determine how to proceed, a source said yesterday.
Ms. Amelie Yan-Gouiffes, the Rapid Response Coordinator from the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office ECHO has arrived here from Nicaragua for an extensive assessment of the floods.
The European Union office here said she will be working closely with the Guyana Red Cross, OXFAM-GB and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) that have been distributing ECHO aid to flood victims.
She will also meet officials of other agencies like United Nations Disaster Assessment Committee (UNDAC), UNICEF and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) that are actively and extensively involved in the flood relief efforts.
Her assessment of the current relief efforts will enable ““solid recommendations to be made should the need arise for ECHO to provide more aid””, the EU office said.
The European Commission through the ECHO office has to date donated about G$197M to the flood relief efforts.
A technical assessment team from Venezuela also arrived here yesterday and Mr. Fernando Rincon, Charge d’’affaires at the Venezuelan Embassy here, said boats could be among the support coming from that country.
The team which includes two doctors, an engineer and two technicians, flew in on a Venezuelan Air Force aircraft.
It yesterday afternoon met Health Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy and members of the CDC to help determine how Venezuela can help, Rincon told the Chronicle.
The Canadian High Commission here yesterday announced that it has contributed G$6.1M to the local relief efforts through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI).
This fund will be increased by G$15M to help Guyanese NGOs and the Government of Guyana proceed with the recovery and reconstruction, the High Commission said in a statement, adding that these contributions will help meet immediate emergency needs.
It said the Government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency will continue to monitor the situation closely in order to ensure that Canada is best placed to respond to potential further needs
Price gougers may be blacklisted
-- ministry warns
By Mark Ramotar
THE Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce is warning shop owners and transport operators who are 'price gouging' and 'profiteering' in the current flood crisis that it may ‘‘blacklist’’ them.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Joseph Singh said on Tuesday that the ministry was compiling two lists –– ““one with good businesses and the other with businesses that are deemed to be bad.””
““At some point, we would need to publish those lists," he said, pointing out that if the list of ‘‘blacklisted companies’’ is published, they will suffer losses as persons may not want to do business there any more.
"We are compiling a list of companies which will be submitted to the Commissioner of Police and the DPP (Director of Public Prosecution) for them to explore whatever mechanisms are there in the written law that can be taken against these businesses," Singh announced at a news briefing at the ministry.
He said any consumer who is asked to pay exorbitant prices for any item can report that shop, business or vehicle to the ministry's Consumer Affairs Hotline on telephone # 225-5858. He said the ministry opened the hotline to members of the public from last Thursday and by Tuesday more than 30 complaints had been received.
"Many persons have already called in and reported incidents of attempts by business people to gouge them," he said, adding that all reports were, or are in the process, of being investigated to ascertain their merits.
Singh said appropriate measures will be taken against those found to be exploiting consumers, adding that when reports are received, contact is made with the persons, urging them to lower their prices.
““Some of them would lower their prices, but others do not adhere to our call and these businesses are put on the ‘‘black list.’’ We have been receiving a number of reports and our own field staff have had a first hand experience of the level and degree of price gouging...we have even had reports of price increases as high as 300% to 400% in cost of transportation and the cost for basic necessities, especially consumer items……””
““……we want to categorically denounce all price gouging and all acts of increasing transportation fares exorbitantly," Singh declared.
"Our mandate that really comes to the fore at this time is consumer related issues and issues in terms of commerce and commercial activities."
The official also lauded businesses which have not increased their prices and are making donations and giving assistance to the national flood relief efforts.
He also recalled that the ministry, early last year, met several representative bodies of the transport sector and arrived on mutually agreed fares.
"We intend to hold them to those fares that we agreed upon - and this applies to both mini-bus and taxi operators," Singh said.
The Permanent Secretary also dispelled rumours of impending shortages in the country of basic food items such as rice, flour and sugar.
"There will be no shortages of flour, sugar and rice. I have spoken with the National Milling Company (Flour Mill), the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) and the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) and all of these major commodity producers have given the assurance that they have adequate supplies to cater for the needs of the population."
He said officials from the National Milling Company told him that they are producing 4,000 bags of flour daily, noting that a shipment of wheat from the United States PL-480 food aid programme was being offloaded on Tuesday.
He also indicated that there are no bottlenecks or hold-up with the importation of foodstuff and donations of other supplies coming from other countries.
Shortages at a particular shop or location are most likely "an artificial shortage", he said.
IMF approves US$14.1M disbursement for Guyana
-- extends sympathy for losses from floods
THE Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that it has approved the immediate disbursement of about US$14.1M for Guyana under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF).
This follows the third review by the board of Guyana's economic performance under the US$83.2M PRGF arrangement, the fund said in a press release.
The Executive Board approved Guyana's request for waivers on the non-observance of two end-September quantitative performance criteria, and three end-November structural performance criteria, as well as the continuous performance criterion on contracting of nonconcessional external debt.
The Board has also approved the authorities' request to extend the arrangement to September 2006, and to rephase the remaining disbursements, including the one made available now, in four equal installments in the amount of SDR 9.27 (about US$14.1M) each.
Following the Executive Board's discussion of Guyana on Monday, Takatoshi Kato, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, said the fund ““extends its sympathy to the people of Guyana for the losses suffered from the recent devastating floods.””
"Guyana has made welcome progress in implementing its medium-term economic programme. While economic growth has been weak in the face of a difficult domestic and external environment, macroeconomic stability has been achieved””, Kato said.
Inflation is low, the exchange rate is stable, and the external debt is lower following the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative completion point, he said.
He, however, reported that there have been significant delays in moving ahead in a number of structural areas, adding that closer cooperation with the fund will help ensure that programme implementation remains on track.
"Although economic growth is expected to strengthen in the medium term, the economic outlook is subject to considerable risk associated with high world oil prices, the envisaged liberalisation in EU (European Union) sugar prices, and the forthcoming presidential elections.
““Managing these risks so as to boost economic growth to levels that will make a significant dent on poverty, while safeguarding medium-term external debt sustainability, will require steadfast implementation of the authorities' fiscal and structural reform programme and the continued support of the international community.”2”
"It will be especially important to place the public finances on a sustainable path by strengthening tax collections and containing public spending. Crucial measures in this regard will be the implementation of the value added tax by July 2006, establishment of strict limits on the wage bill, and careful selection of public sector investment projects to ensure their financial viability and consistency with the debt strategy””, Kato said.
He added: ““Consistent with the government's commitment to improving fiscal transparency and accountability, the authorities would be well advised to avoid the use of the Infrastructure Development Fund as a vehicle for extra-budgetary transactions.
"Achieving the programme's growth and poverty reduction objectives requires the improvement of the investment climate. Overcoming existing structural impediments to private investment will involve improved governance, reduced financial intermediation costs, and measures to facilitate private sector development. Steps to streamline regulations for business registration, licensing, custom clearance, land title issuance, and the establishment of commercial courts will be critical.
““Directors look forward to the upcoming PRSP progress report with the objective to enhance the discussion and ownership of the programme, strengthen monitoring of social expenditures, and help to attain the poverty reduction objectives."
The PRGF is the IMF's concessional facility for low-income countries. PRGF-supported programmes are based on country-owned poverty reduction strategies adopted in a participatory process involving civil society and development partners, and articulated in a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, or PRSP.
This is intended to ensure that each PRGF-supported programme is consistent with a comprehensive framework for macroeconomic, structural, and social policies, to foster growth and reduce poverty.
PRGF loans carry an annual interest rate of 0.5 per cent, and are repayable over 10 years with a 5 ½2½-year grace period on principal payments.
Truimph koker attendants fired
MINISTER of Local Government and Regional Development, Harripersaud Nokta has instructed that two attendants at the Triumph/Beterverwagting koker, East Coast Demerara be dismissed for criminal negligence, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.
