Dookeran pledges to deal with flood problems in budget; Rowley says don't blame PNM

Finance Minister Winston Dookeran told reporters Thursday he expects that the People's partnership first budget will allocate funds to develop infrastructure to deal with flooding.

However he said the immedidate need is to help victims of the extensive flooding that has hit the country since last weekend.

“In the short term there are monetary issues which need to be addressed with regards to those who have been in distress,” Dookeran said.

With respect to dealing with infrastructure issues, the minister said, “We are working within the limits of what we have at the moment, but we will develop a more ambitious program in the future."

Dookeran is meeting Frday with with the inter-ministerial committee on flooding and flood relief led by Minister of National Security John Sandy. He expects to have a clear picture of funds that would be needed to deal with flood-relief efforts.

The floods have created havoc with foods crops and the Central Bank has expressed concerns that food inflation would escalate.

Dookeran said he plans to develop an economic strategy in the budget to deal with issues of rising food prices, which has driven inflation to over 13 per cent.

Commenting on the recent flood Opposition leader Keith Rowley said his party cannot accept responsibility "for acts of God." Rowley suggested that the floods are the result of unusually high rainfall.

"We all know that a lot of our population lives either within or close to water courses. When the water flow is low there is no problem, but every ten or 20 years there is high rainfall, and the river will claim its channel."

He added, "The capacity of drains and waterways are not infinite...The rains that fell had nothing to do with the PNM. There are still more drains to be built and be cleared, and it is left to Government to do that."