The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

DNA leader Branville McCartney is urging the government to clean and properly maintain drains in areas that tend to be badly affected by floods.

Mr McCartney’s statements were issued in light of last week’s storm which left many areas flooded and residents struggling to deal with damages to their assets.

In a press statement, Mr McCartney said: “Last week part of New Providence experienced some of the worst flooding in recent times. Many homes, vehicles and businesses were severely damaged. To date we do not know the monetary value of the damage but I would venture to say that it was in the millions of dollars. Thank God that there was no loss of life.”

He said: “Of course politics has raised its ugly head and the cry around town is what is the Prime Minister and the PLP government going to do. In my view these cries came much too late.

“There is a saying that prevention is better than cure. This aptly applies to this situation. There seem to be many areas in New Providence that would flood on a sunny day such as Pinewood Gardens. The reason for this is that the areas where most of those homes were built are low lying and quite frankly there is not much that can be done in those circumstances.

“This has been going on for many years and notwithstanding how many walk-abouts the government and the official opposition do, that will not change those circumstances.

“There are other areas however where flooding can be reduced if there had been proper cleaning and maintenance of the drains in those areas. It is unfortunate that the cry for the cleaning and maintenance of those drains are heard after the fact.”