On Saturday a team from the Alliance For Change headed by AFC Chairman Nigel Hughes and including Daniel Fraser, Neilsen Mc Kenzie, Anil and supporter Ann Atkins visited the community of Barnwell North, East Bank Demerara.
Barnwell North is located east of Mocha Arcadia and east of the squatting area which is just behind Mocha. The village was established in the late 1970’s when persons were given leases for one acre plots for small agricultural development. Over the years it has been inhabited by various small farmers, persons from Pomeroon and the North West district.
Access to the village is by way of poorly maintained earthen dam which extends from the squatting area for about two miles in an eastern direction. The dam is adjacent to and runs alongside the # 3 canal which flows into the Demerara River. Several persons live on smaller dams which run perpendicular and lead to the # 3 canal.
Barnwell North can be described as a ‘depressed community’ as the homes have no running water, no electricity and with the exception of two yards, all the rest were either flooded or inundated with water. Some residents are forced to use the water of the canal to wash their clothing, cooking and eating utensils.
During the visit, the AFC team observed a large number of small children and teenagers ‘liming’ on logs which lay across the canal. Upon inquiry most of these children “officially” attend schools in Mocha or further up the East Bank of Demerara. However, given the state of the dam, its isolated state and long walk out, it rapidly became apparent upon closer questioning that few of the children attended school on a regular basis.
The dam is the only access to houses in the village and it is pitch black at nights. The AFC team learnt that about three years ago a school girl was gang raped and murdered an early afternoon at around 3.00 pm while walking home from school. The case is currently before the court.
The AFC held an impromptu public meeting on the dam with the residents to get a sense of their immediate needs as a community.
The residents identified their immediate needs as follows:
a. Potable water to their yards
b. A pump at the koker of the # 3 canal at the Demerara River to reduce the permanent flooding in the rainy season which occurs when the tide is high.
c. Electricity
d. Access road
The residents indicated and it was clear to see that, during the rainy season their agricultural holdings were permanently under water as the water in Canal # 3 would back up and flood their holdings damaging all their crops. The consequence of this was that they could and would only plant during the dry season. The economic consequences of this were very evident.
The task of getting their produce to the market proved to be a challenge as the dam is in a poor condition and when the produce is taken to the good road at Mocha, transportation to the market was unreliable as most of the minibuses and taxis would be already filled by residents of Mocha.
The residents reported that there was a Community Development Council (CDC) which had not held elections for the past four years. According to the residents, they are not satisfied with the manner in which the CDC conducts its affairs particularly between those persons who held leases and those further back who had applied for leases and had not yet been awarded leases. They also spoke of favoritism in the way persons are selected by the CDC for jobs in the community such as cleaning drains.
The residents also reported that in 2005 Mott Mc Donald, a UK engineering firm, was commissioned by the Government of Guyana and provided to the Government and the NDIA a comprehensive report on drainage of the coast. The report included a report on the drainage of the lands in Barnwell North. The recommendations made in the report on Barnwell North have not been implemented.
After the public meeting The AFC team ventured into one of the side dams where they the awful impact of the flooding on the crops.
At one home where a family of seven were living, under the house was flooded. The resident reported that this was an almost permanent condition and in the evenings he would hear the caiman/alligators moving about downstairs. He has already killed quite a few snakes. The walk out from this property to the main road is at least two miles in what would be absolute darkness in the night.
The AFC team also met with the chairman of the CDC who explained that he had spoken with the NDIA and the Minister about flooding in the area. According to the CDC Chairman, he was told that a pump was being installed at Herstelling and it was expected that the #3 canal waters would drain into the Herstelling outflow. He further pointed out that two large drainage canals which previously were fed into the Herstelling outflow were now blocked as a result of the construction of the East Bank Public Road and were diverted into the # 3 canal thereby adding to its already over extended capacity. In addition, all the new housing areas east of the Mocha Road are now draining into the #3 canal further adding the already over loaded canal #3.
The AFC calls on the Government to take urgent action to address the conditions affecting residents of Barnwell North. Such measures should include;
1. Installing a pump at the outfall koker of the #3 Canal to pump water during the low tide in the rainy season.
2. Provide potable water for the area.
3. Follow up on the status of the applications for leases of those persons who had pending applications.
While in the area the AFC encouraged residents to organize themselves and use their collective efforts and energies to work for positive change in their community.
