Latest update April 24th, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 04, 2010 Letters
Dear Editor,
Just over three weeks after that devastating earthquake, we continue to hear the cry for help from the people of Haiti as we watch them live and die. It is far from over.
Many countries including Guyana continue to mobilize massive assistance to bring relief to Haitians. This is as it should be. It is a challenge to get basic things like food, water and medical supplies in a city that has been completely broken.
It is very sad. Yet in the midst of that terrible tragedy, we in Guyana can distill some important lessons from it. Such lessons could help us, to find approaches to advance the safety, health and general fortunes of our city and country.
Setting the context, we must remind citizens that Georgetown is 4ft below the normal high tide and an additional 2ft below spring tide. Naturally, this makes our capital susceptible to flooding and its attendant social, economic, environmental and security challenges.
Add to that our fragile and very inadequate drainage system, comprised of a network of canals and sluices.
It is common knowledge that, the capacity of this system continues to be severely restricted by heavy siltation, illegal dumping of rubbish, particularly plastic, Styrofoam and other non-biodegradable materials, into these waterways, and the clear preference for concreted yards, by home-owners.
The situation is worsened by the indiscipline of some building contractors, who do not comply with the requirements to properly store building materials. As a result, sand and stone get into the drains and inhibit the functionality of the system.
Our building inspectors have to be constantly warning and dispatching notices to persuade errant contractors and home builders to correct such negative situations, almost on a daily basis.
Again, the worrying phenomenon of squatting on drainage reserves coupled with the use of pit latrines and unacceptable sanitary arrangements, on these reserves, make it extremely difficult for council to adequately clear, and sustain the integrity of these canals.
The situation is execrated by the fact that many canals were filled-in by various past local authorities.
Historically, the municipality never had enough money to secure the appropriate quality and quantity of drainage and other equipment to clear many of these waterways and deliver other key services. Still, some would argue that it is more a question of management and priorities rather than adequacy of the resources.
Even so, the development of certain economic social and environmental events globally and locally has made this gap between resources and the provision of services increasingly gaping.
However, our extant environmental condition, in the city, and the “commons” shared by the countries and cities, and towns, throughout the world we can learn some important lessons from the Haiti disaster.
One such lesson is the need to enact appropriate building reforms, in the City of Georgetown. According to reports, the multi-storey concrete buildings that made up much of Port-au-Prince could not stand the earthquake because the buildings were brittle and had no flexibility, breaking quite calamitously and degenerating into rubble when the earthquake struck.
This conclusion could be supported by two similar events which occurred in densely populated areas but produced different outcomes.
In 1988, the Spitak magnitude-6.9 earthquake in Armenia killed about 26,000 people. However, the magnitude-7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake, in California, in 1989 caused only 63 deaths. High building standards accounted for the difference in outcomes.
In the case of Georgetown, citizens know that flooding is a real possibility. The 2005 flood is a good case in point. More than that, in November 2007, Guyana experienced an earthquake event. Therefore, we ought to be concerned with the urgent need for building reforms.
In our Capital, it now appears to be the fashion for contractors to build multi- story concrete buildings. Beyond the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01, which stipulates certain requirements for legal boundaries, structural soundness, and public health issues, there seems to be no other approved set of building standards to regulate the private construction sector. As a result, we are faced with the following challenges:
(a) Lack of pride of workmanship in the construction sector. Many contractors do not demonstrate pride in their work. This is seen in some of the buildings in our communities. More, quite a few of these builders hire workers who may not have had any technical training but are given technical tasks to do for an agreed sum. In some cases supervision is not as strict as it should be. The contractor may be doing more than one jobs. This leads to a wider point.
(b) High informality and fragmentation within the sector. In many instances, the sector appears to be operating on rule of thumb, and personal experience, by individual contractors as against design. Similar building works are neither consistent, in many respects, nor do not they take account of existing buildings within the same geographic area. Again, this could have a negative impact on the natural environment and the well being of neighbourhoods. Therefore, there is need for legislation with regards to design and construction in the City of Georgetown.
It seems quite reasonable to suggest that, there is urgent need to establish a body or agency with the legal clout and resources to manage and enforce building reforms.
Also, engineers should pay more attention to climate change, the reality of sea rise, and use more appropriate materials with a built-in capacity to deal with flooding and to absorb damage.
Enquires revealed that, there is a draft Development Standard. Incorporated in that is building reforms. But it is a draft. Looking at the bigger picture, it really comes down to proper town planning with very strong emphasis on securing the integrity of the built-up environment as well as the natural environment.
Again, there are other recommendations which could help ensure the health and sustainable development of our city. These include:
* making the environment a city priority and associating environmental rehabilitation, preservation and development measures to social and economic development strategies, such as the Poverty Reduction Strategy;
* stepping up community environmental activities in all areas to improve basic sanitation and the general health of the environment; and
* strengthening institutions, including community- based ones, to better manage the environment in local communities in which they operate.
Finally, our prayers and thoughts continue to be with the people of Haiti as we reflect upon ways of improving the state of the local communities in which we live.
Royston King
Public Relations Officer
Mayor and City Council
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