The Ministry of Agriculture’s National Drainage and Irrigation Authority wishes to respond to erroneous claims being made by the Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton regarding a koker and channel at Vergenoegen, East Bank Essequibo in a Newsroom article titled “Vergenoegen residents in calls for koker upgrades, desilting major canal” and dated March 23, 2023. The Opposition Leader claims that he has made representation for those works to be executed. However, the Ministry of Agriculture was already aware of the situation and the Hon. Minister of Agriculture instructed the NDIA to commence works.
A contract was awarded by the NDIA to R. Boodram Contracting Services for the fabrication of a new door and installation of lifting mechanism. Works would have commenced as far back as early March, 2023, which was as a result of NDIA’s engineers visiting and assessing the situation. The contractor is currently in the process of constructing a new door for the koker while NDIA’s pontoon and excavators is scheduled to clear the outfall channel shortly. In addition, the site would have been cleared to make the structure more accessible and works would have been undertaken to have the koker and channel operational.
In addition, the NDIA would have commenced construction of a pump station at Greenwich Park/Barnwell, East Bank Essequibo to assist with drainage in those areas. In November 2021, the NDIA would have signed a contract with Roopan Ramoutar Investments for the construction of a pump station at Greenwich Park/Barnwell to the value of $597,851,578.
The NDIA wishes to emphasize that it will continue to work with all vulnerable areas in bringing relief to farmers and residents. Given those facts, the Opposition Leader should have inquired and consulted with the NDIA before making any statement. Notably, at present, the Philadelphia sluice presently provides drainage for the Greenwich Park/Barnwell area.
