Flooding always rains on PNM's parade

THE EDITOR: We are never immune to the annual intense flooding and are always amazed as to how quickly flood waters destroy everything in its path and leave areas covered in unrelenting water for days.

The reality of these floods is that it reveals just how weak and incompetent this Government is, not to mention biased and discriminatory.

Throughout the dry season, minister of 70 per cent good roads bleats and repeats how many rivers he dredged, how many pumps and sluice gates were vandalised and stolen but now restored and how many watercourses he cleaned.

So that when the rains come, there should be a defence against flooding.

Between Sunday and Tuesday, flood waters turned south Trinidad into the new Everglades. So much for Rohan Sinanan.

Not to be outdone, his colleague the minister of LG (down from AG), at a press briefing, read from a tablet about how many reports he had about floods, how many shelters are activated and how many trees fell.

During this impressive recital, he is stopped by a reporter who asked about the people's well-being. To this, he had no answer. But are we really surprised? In addition, the PM comes on the TV to say all agencies are activated and moving to assist.

But there was no one in sight over the past week in flooded out south. Soldiers were busy looking for Galil so they had no time for any flood victims, coast guard don't do floods and the TTPS was busy searching for the jaguar.

The media was the only ones who paid attention to the south Everglades. They reported on how flood victims had to fend for themselves while some begged for shelter, food and dry clothes.

I am quite certain, not a cent has been paid in compensation by the Ministry of Social Welfare especially since the majority of those flooded out are undeserving UNC supporters who really should already be paying property tax on their flooded out properties.

Have any local government election hopefuls traversed these flood-decimated areas to meet with the victims who in a few weeks time, will be asked to go out and vote?

The southland's plight proves that for all of the property tax-funded local government reforms being touted, one thing is certain, the flooding will always rain on the PNM's parade.

LINDA CAPILDEO

Port of Spain