McKenzie: More money coming for drought mitigation
Published:Saturday | July 28, 2018 | 12:00 AMCorey Robinson
Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie says that he will be requesting additional funds from the Cabinet to help mitigate drought conditions affecting communities across the country.
According to McKenzie, five parishes have been critically affected by the drought and he is concerned, having received reports of persons using unfit and unsafe trucks to shuttle water to affected areas.
"Next Monday (tomorrow), I will be making a submission to the Cabinet, because based on the information that is coming, we are going to be in for a rough time," said McKenzie.
He added that more than $60 million has already been allocated for drought mitigation across the island this year.
"Recently, some $36 million has been released and we are going to be releasing another $25 million next week to prop up the parishes that have become more desperate now for water," said McKenzie, who accepted that the $61 million allocated "is just a drop in the bucket".
He listed Portland, St Elizabeth, sections of Manchester, Trelawny and St Ann among the worst affected areas.
"Between the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, under which the National Water Commission falls, we are going to be providing close to $171 million to get water across the country," said McKenzie.
The local government minister issued a warning to municipal corporations which truck water in vehicles that have not been checked by health authorities.
"While I appreciate that there is a chronic shortage of water trucks across the country during the period, the Government has a responsibility to ensure that any truck that is used to deliver water to any community in need of water meets the requirements under the public health regulation," said McKenzie.
"All trucks that carry water on behalf of the Government, whether it be local government or central government, must be sanitised and certified by the Public Health Department.
"Any municipality that is caught violating this critical requirement, we are going to expose them. We cannot, and the Government is not prepared to, risk the health of the citizens just because persons are against following the requirements," declared McKenzie.
AVAILABLE VEHICLES
He charged that one municipal corporation has claimed that it has been forced to use whatever vehicles it can find to reach affected areas.
The People's National Party spokesperson on local government, Dr Angela Brown Burke, last week charged that the drought situation was more acute and widespread than described by the Government.
She called on the Government to move immediately to make additional sums available to put municipal corporations across the island in a better position to respond to the urgent demands.
Rural Agricultural Development Authority Drought Advisory
With the possibility of the drought to worsen, crop and livestock farmers must take a proactive approach in putting in place management strategies to minimise impacts:
To conserve water by:
- Scale down on acreages under production where possible
- Choose crops which can better withstand drought (sweet potato, cassava) and use drought tolerant varieties of crops
- Mulch soil
- Practise intercropping and use of cover crops to reduce soil exposure
- Use available water efficiently. Invest in drip irrigation
- Irrigate and/or water crops during early hours of morning or in the afternoon
- Still consider water harvesting. Even during dry spells intermediate rains can provide good supply of water
- Maintain your water ponds. Do not allow ponds to remain totally dry. Leave some water.
- Consider water recycling from other on-farm operations where possible.
Livestock farmers, reduced access to water and heat stress can result in animals suffering from dehydration, low milk production and milk quality to supply offsprings. Animals may become sick and may also die. It is recommended that the following practises are put in place:
- Use every opportunity to harvest and store rainwater such as tanks connected to the roofs of houses
- Reduce stocking density
- Improve management of water resources through the use of nipple drinkers
- Provide shade for animals
- Feed animals at cooler times of the day
- Ensure water being offered is cool
- Install fans in livestock units
- Install sprinklers
- Provide additional housing to reduce stocking density and increase air flow