IN 2018 the Moruca Bridge which connects the villages of San Jose with Kumaka in the Region One area, will be completely refurbished. In addition, Radio Moruca is expected to go on air in 2018, as allocations have been made in the 2018 national budget for these projects. This and other projects were highlighted by government Member of Parliament, Richard Allen, who told the National Assembly during the budget debates on Tuesday evening that the government has been delivering on its promises to further develop the North West District.

“It’s under this APNU/AFC coalition government, we are not talking care, we are demonstrating to all Guyana that we will do and take you into that journey,” Allen said. He said that the main roads in the region are being rehabilitated, including the main roads at Mabaruma, the region’s capital, which he noted will provide relief to residents living in communities there.

He said in the past the community of Baramita was neglected and according to him improvements in infrastructure, including the construction of schools and rehabilitation of roads there have added to the development of the area. “The community of Baramita is well on its way to experience the good life,” Allen said. He said too that some persons have been able to acquire birth certificates at the community for the first time.

“So we will fix it, we are here and we will continue to fix it,” he said of the government’s mandate in the region. Allen told the National Assembly that in 2018, Radio Moruca will add to the services of Radio Mabaruma which was commissioned in the region in 2016. Moruca will also receive a new generating set while a new electricity network will be established at the community of Arakaka, located in the Matarkai sub region.

In addition, he said the region will receive a passenger cargo ferry; a move which he noted will make life easier for persons who utilise the services of the existing service. Allen said that several schools in Region One will receive new music and sports equipment while he noted that the North West Secondary School at Mabaruma will experience improved laboratory facilities. As he gave his full support to the 2018 budget, Allen noted that the reopening of the manganese mines in the Matthew’s Ridge area will provide job opportunities for persons living there.