Mayor of Port of Spain Murchison Brown has said though the drains are being cleaned, he cannot assure Port of Spain will not flood later this month when T&T plays host to over 50 world leaders during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2009.

Speaking to reporters after the official commissioning of a new digital display board at the Central Market on Abattoir Road, Port of Spain, he said, ’Once you have substantial rains, there will be flooding.’

He said despite intensive work being done by the City Corporation and private contractors, who were called in to help the usual workers because ’November is a very wet month’, there would be no guarantees that Port of Spain’s usual flooding would be reined in completely.

However he said, ’The water is running off faster’ because drains and waterways were cleaned recently in the city.

He also said the extra emphasis on cleaning the capital city was not for CHOGM.

Browne said, ’CHOGM or no CHOGM, cleaning will continue.’

He said within recent days, several foreign ambassadors visited Port of Spain, and they were all impressed with the cleanliness of the city.

The mayor said work was being finished at some of the main landmarks in the city, including Lord Harris Square and Memorial Park.

Earlier this week, workers of the Port of Spain Corporation downed their tools to show their disagreement over the hiring of private contractors to work alongside them and were reportedly being paid an exorbitant fee of over $5 million for their share of the work.