Over $34M in Presidential and Capital Grants were on Wednesday presented to Toshaos for green sustainable community projects.

The cheques were presented to 25 village leaders by Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Hon. Sydney Allicock and Minister within the Ministry, Hon. Valerie Garrido-Lowe on the third day of the 13th annual National Toshaos’ Council (NTC) conference being held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).
The villages that received grants are:
Villages Projects Amount Hururu

Extension of cattle ranch

Constriction of reservoir $800,000

$1M Maikwak Construction of village office $800,000 Arakaka Procurement of boat $1M Morawhanna Procurement of chain saw, brush cutter, water pumps and fittings. $800,000 Hotoquai Procurement of boat clearing of new community ground $1M Hiawa Repairs to village bus $800,000 Fly Hill Construction of bridge $800,000 Sand Creek Construction of catwalk $1M Monkey Mountain Construction of fuel station $1.5M Waipa Construction of guest House

Procurement of boat $1.2M

$800,000 Quarrie Construction of tourism office $800,000 Santa Curz Construction of fruit farm establishment $3M Santa Rosa Drying facility for coffee project $5M Karasabai Eco Tourism project

Construction and furnishing of village ranch house $2M

$1.5M Wiruni Furnishing and completion of community guest house $1M Tipuru Extension of sports pavilion $1M Bamboo Creek Completion of water system $1M Tuseneng Instillation of internet $1M Kokshebai Construction of resource centre $1M Kanapang Electrification project $1.2M Kaibarupai Construction of guest house $1.5 Churikadnau Extension of village paddock and purchasing of chain saw $800,000 Pai Pang Instillation of water system $800,000 The villages of Swan and Quarrie also received a contribution towards their Heritage celebrations. Additionally, Bashaizon received an ATV and Hotoquai, an outboard engine.

Hotoquai Toshao, Owen Singh explained that the $1M Presidential Grant that his village received will be used to clear a new recreational space for the youths. He explained that the current community ground is in the same geographical space as the nursery and primary schools, and to avoid any damage to the facilities, the village council has decided to relocate the ground.

Singh further noted that the 40-horsepower boat engine will be used to transport elderly residents to uplift their pension at the Mabaruma Township and assist farmers to take their produce to the market.

The Toshao commended the administration for its continued support to his community. “I am very happy to be receiving the grant and engine. It will benefit my community and the people,” he said.

The Presidential Grants programme is aimed at creating self-sufficiency within the hinterland villages and communities through green, innovative projects. In 2019, over $200M will be invested in 215 villages and communities under the programme.
Over the past months, millions-of-dollars in grants has been handed over to villages to support community projects. The Moruca sub-District, Region received close to $17M in grants for villages in Santa Rosa; Kopinang and Bamboo Creek in Potaro-Siparuni, Region 8; and Wakapau, Kabakaburi, St. Monica and Mainstay/Whyaka in the Pomeroon-Supenaam, Region 2 received presidential grants totalling over $8M, while, Patarinau, Region 9, and its satellite, Baitoon and Katuur also received $3M. Laluni Village, on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, will receive a tractor today. (DPI)