Dear Editor,

It is with horror many Guyanese viewed, the flood waters inundate the homes of the residents of Cane Grove. We of the Region #4 Co-ordinating Committee on Poverty Reduction extend our commiserations. However, these engineering failures and waste of public funds shall continue until the Government and international funding agencies recognise that Guyana at this juncture does not possess the requisite skills to execute infrastructural projects. Pointedly, we cannot remodel a dam (East Demerara Conservancy), a bridge (Mandela Avenue), Sea Defence (Mon Repos), a wharf (Charity), etc..

Our Committee recently submitted a position paper in response to The Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and the attendant Consultations in Region 4. In that paper we called for the establishment of a Global Register of Skilled Overseas-based Guyanese. The disaster at Cane Grove has brought into sharp focus the timeliness of that call for help from the Guyanese Diaspora. In the Region #4 position paper (a copy of which is attached) we also implored the authorities to implement several other measures that would not only reduce poverty, but lead to wealth creation across the nation.

We wait with impatient expectation for the Government's response.