Dear Editor,
The repair, widening, and expansion of the roadways in Georgetown and greater Georgetown, and even the efforts to beautify the city should have never had been undertaken without taking care of the flooding faced in these areas. The representative from the World Bank for the Caribbean also addressed this issue and made it clear in the presence of the Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance that if flooding occurs, all the investments made in affected infrastructure such as roads and housing would need to start over. Thus, confirming that the current investment strategy being pursued by President Ali’s administration is placing the cart before the horse.
Furthermore, it should be noted that without using civil engineering expertise to design a sustainable urban drainage system in collaboration with a good urban planning team the investment and development pursued in Georgetown and greater Georgetown cannot be properly designed and planned for. Any good urban planning and civil engineering team with experience knows that they must minimise the water retention that could cause premature deterioration of the infrastructure that will be put in place upon the land to be developed.
CRG recommends that the current administration hire a reputable, highly qualified, and experienced urban planning and civil engineering team as soon as possible to redesign the capital and the surrounding areas’ drainage system before further work is done to widen and expand the road network in Georgetown and greater Georgetown. Given our shared history and the similarities between Amsterdam and Georgetown (both being below sea level) a reputable team from Holland may be best suited for this urgent undertaking.
It would also be prudent for the government to expand upon the work being done along the seawalls to also allow for land recapture and improved long-term sea defence (a sea level that is 6′ higher is expected). This undertaking must also be guided and completed by a reputable, highly qualified, competent, and experienced professional team. The planned improvement to Georgetown, Greater Georgetown and the coastline must be done in the correct sequence to prevent the current wasteful spending and wasted effort that we are witnessing and experiencing during heavy rainfall.