GEORGETOWN, GUYANA – The agony of yet another flood has ignited a firestorm of political protest, with Sherod Duncan, a prominent member of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) coalition, forcefully renewing calls for immediate and stringent accountability in Guyana’s critical flood prevention infrastructure.
The spark for this renewed demand is the disastrous failure of the Stanleytown koker in Region 3 earlier this week, an incident that saw high tide waters surge into residents’ homes and yards. In an impassioned Facebook video posted Thursday, Duncan did not mince words, declaring that the incident brutally exposed “long-standing weaknesses in infrastructure management and maintenance,” warning that it “only takes one broken koker door to flood an entire community.”
The crisis unfolded when the community’s aging wooden gate suddenly collapsed during a high tide, overwhelming the drainage system and forcing engineers from the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) into an emergency response. While the NDIA has since announced plans to swap the faulty wooden structure for a more robust steel one, Duncan dismissed these efforts as mere “patchwork fixes” that fail to address the root causes.
He pointed out that this is not the first time Stanleytown has suffered; the community was ravaged by floods in 2021 when an attendant neglected to close the koker gate, illustrating a dangerous mix of both “mechanical and managerial” breakdowns. “Weak infrastructure and weak oversight are putting families at risk,” he asserted.
Highlighting a worrying trend, Duncan noted that Region Three alone has endured nine major flood events since 2020, many of which were exacerbated by poor maintenance and inexcusably delayed intervention. In response, he reiterated APNU’s demand for actionable solutions, including real-time monitoring of all koker operations during high tide events, mandatory third-party inspections, and stronger managerial systems to prevent these recurring disasters.
“A stronger koker network starts with stronger oversight,” Duncan declared, insisting that preventing future tragedies hinges on prioritizing responsibility. “We can get it right if we plan, listen, and work together, because resilience begins with responsibility.”
yes Dunce Can it is related to knowledge you want to discard. Tell it as it is not to Claims failure by a Government.
Guyana is below sea level 5 to eight feet. the kokers is to allow for drainage and to prevent flooding from the sea. In 20 21 old koker was rotten and collapse. So who was in charge when the Koker was aging in 2020? And who spent 6 billion dollars to build Durban pavilion instead of repairing these kokers?
And who are the workers operating these kokers? Who chose them.
so stop your nonsense.