…BV residents assured of gov’t support to develop their community

RESIDENTS of Beterverwagting/Triumph welcomed Ministers of the Government into their community on Wednesday to talk about their needs, the government’s achievements and its plans for the future.

Meeting the residents were Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams; Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes and Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman. Before assembling at the Beterverwagting/Triumph Secondary School, Ministers Hughes and Williams participated in a walkabout in the community where they met villagers and invited them to attend the meeting to voice their concerns.

Addressing the audience at the school, Minister Trotman set the stage by stating that he and his colleagues were there to listen to the interests of the people as well as to present themselves as the better option for the Governance of Guyana. He thanked them for their patience shown in the current political situation and urged them not to become confused or “buckled” by the “noise” of those opposing.

Meanwhile, Minsiter Hughes pointed the residents to the fact that, even before ‘first oil’, Guyana has been transforming at a rapid rate. Giving an example, she stated that there are more airlines flying in to Guyana than four years ago with people who are eager and willing to invest. Hughes urged the residents to ensure that they put themselves in a position to benefit and to ensure that, come 2020, a “responsible government” is in place to manage Guyana’s oil wealth. The trait of a responsible government, she explained, is one which has the best interest of its people at heart, much like the coalition government which, since 2015, set out on a mission to bring about a “good life” for all Guyanese.

While all of the government’s plans to assist communities have not been realised, she stated that positive reports on Guyana’s economy and its projected growth from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and NASDAQ set the record straight that the country is improving. “We have brought standards back to lives and communities and in government. And guess what? We aren’t where we want to get yet because, as I walk around your community, I see that there are lots of things to be done,” Hughes acknowledged.

However, she also took the opportunity to speak about her Ministry and the 174 Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) Hubs which have been set up countrywide, including the visited community and surrounding communities. She told parents, some of whom were unaware, that at these hubs all the text books needed for school children are available which can save them from having to purchase same.

She also noted the recent collaboration between the government and Machinery Corporation of Guyana Limited (MACORP) which will see the ICT Hubs being utilized for training individuals for the use of heavy duty machinery within the next two months.

“We need young men and women that are trained to drive those excavators and heavy-duty machinery [needed in the oil and gas and mining industry]. The training costs you nothing,” Hughes said to the applause of the audience.
Minister Williams stated that with an incredible amount of wealth heading to Guyana, the key question is not whether Guyana will be rich but who is best suited to manage these resources. When the coalition government took over, he reminded that Guyana was well-known as a “pariah state”, a “narco-state” and eventually black listed by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) in 2013. “So, what we have been doing comrades, under President Granger and this government, is that we have been cleaning this economy. We have been cleaning the economy of ‘dirty’ money, that’s what they [the People’s Progressive Party] were running on. They weren’t running on any legitimate business,” he said. He urged the residents to “wake up” and to realise that the political battle at hand is all with the intention to stop the Opposition getting its hands on the coming oil wealth.

After proving yet another comparison of management between the two Administrations and questioning the audience “who will you give the oil wealth to distribute”, the scores in attendance shouted “Granger!” To ensure that all are counted in the coming elections, Williams also stressed the importance of the revision of the now-expired Voters List —which the Opposition hopes to utilise in the elections—by house-to-house registration.
He garnered much the same level of support from the crowd. Following the brief presentations, members of the audience were given the opportunity to voice their concerns. During the exercise, it was realised that many issues were tied to the work of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) and the feeling of residents that more ought to be done. One resident, Charles Todd, stated that while the works of the government are visible countrywide, he longs to see more being done in general by the NDC.

Another resident, Mr. Fortune, stated that the Council and the Region must begin to do more to improve the road networks and the number of streetlights in the community.
Regarding the state of the roads, Minister Williams told residents that they can look forward to improvements in their communities as it is not the government’s intention to leave a single community behind, in present and future management. However, he explained that the community’s NDC is funded by taxation which is often times inefficient — a problem not specific to the community but countrywide.

At the same time, Hughes urged residents to visit the NDC and to attend monthly statutory meetings to ensure that their concerns regarding community development are heard. She also encouraged them to visit only with the interest of working in collaboration with the Council for improvement. Similarly, Chairman of the Beterverwagting/Triumph NDC, Jimmaul Bagot, encouraged residents to take on a collaborative approach in their requests of the Council and was also able to speak to some of the issues raised by residents. Other concerns which came related to National Insurance Scheme (NIS) issues; the need for house lots and the call for something “tangible” to be placed in the 2020 budget for senior citizens.