Dear Editor,
I write in response to a recent article dated December 7, 2025, and captioned “The flooding of Georgetown”.
The recent flooding in sections of downtown Georgetown has understandably raised frustration, but it is deeply misleading and politically opportunistic to suggest that this event is a failure of the Government while completely ignoring the longstanding and well-documented neglect by the Georgetown mayor and city council. The management of the internal drainage network within Georgetown, including the smaller canals, alleyways, drains, and inlets, is the responsibility of the municipality.
That responsibility has been grossly mishandled by the APNU/PNC-led council, resulting in choked drains, outdated infrastructure, and poor garbage management. No matter how much the central Government invests in national drainage pumps and outfall structures, if internal drains are blocked by waste and not properly maintained, water will accumulate.
It is no secret that the Ali-led Administration has been expending billions to strengthen national flood resilience. Over the past four years, major upgrades have been completed to pump stations, sluices, and drainage channels along the coast. The newly installed Liliendaal pumping station and the active desilting and clearing of major outfall channels, including Sussex Street, Church Street, Cowan Street, and Ruimveldt, are part of a systematic and ongoing effort to improve drainage capacity. These works have already greatly reduced widespread and prolonged flooding that historically affected not just Georgetown but communities across the region. Any attempt to label these investments as “public relations gimmicks” is a denial of the tangible improvements many residents have experienced.
The flooding that occurred after a continuous downpour does not demonstrate Government neglect but rather a direct result of the continued failure of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council to manage what is within its jurisdiction. The Council continues to ignore the maintenance of primary and secondary drainage canals in the capital, leaving them clogged with silt and garbage. While the Government is modernising coastal infrastructure, implementing smart drainage monitoring, and deploying emergency assets during heavy rainfall and high tides, the municipality has failed to keep the internal system functioning. It is that disconnect, not any lack of investment by the Government, that causes temporary street flooding when rain meets blocked drains.
Critics who now seek to attack President Irfaan Ali and Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha conveniently overlook that Georgetown has suffered from mismanagement for decades. If they are truly serious about accountability, they must confront the failures of the mayor and city council, which have squandered taxpayer and market revenues while offering little more than excuses. Yet instead of demanding better from those directly responsible, political commentators are attempting to shift blame onto the central Government, which has repeatedly stepped in to compensate for municipal incompetence.
With the PPP/C now being elected to lead the Regional Democratic Council in Region Four, there is finally an opportunity to fix the long-neglected urban drainage systems through coordinated oversight, proper planning, and consistent maintenance. President Ali has already outlined his vision for restoring Georgetown as a clean, flood-resilient, modern capital. The transformation of public markets, rehabilitation of canals, and the restoration of public spaces are all ongoing initiatives that will continue, despite all attempted obstructions from those who would rather see the city decay if they cannot control it.
President Ali and Agriculture Minister, Hon Zulfikar Mustapha, have consistently demonstrated that the Government remains committed to addressing these issues head-on, working tirelessly across agencies to modernise infrastructure and protect citizens from climate impacts.
While critics seek to deflect responsibility and undermine progress, the Government continues to invest heavily in flood mitigation and national resilience, and those investments are producing results. Georgetown’s internal flooding challenges will only be fully solved when all partners, especially the mayor and city council, carry out their duties. The PPP/C Government has not failed; rather, it is correcting decades of failure left behind by others.