TREMENDOUS relief will soon come to residents of the hinterland community of Koberimo with the supply of potable water, following a visit last Monday, by Minister of Housing and Water, Mr. Irfaan Ali.
It was part of a four-day visit to Region One (Barima/Waini) in light of the current El Nino situation, and the team included Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr. Emile McGarrell;  Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) Hinterland Manager, Mr. Akram Hussain; and Regional Chairman, Mr. Fermin Singh. The journey which began last Sunday saw the minister and his team touching several communities including Barabina, Kamwatta, Mabaruma, White Water, Wauna, Tobago Hill, Wanaina, Hosororo, Koberimo, Kokerite area, Kumaka, Sebai, Eclipse Falls, Matthews Ridge, and Port Kaituma, to assess the situation on the ground and bring much-needed relief to residents of these villages while outlining some other development plans to improve water supply to the hinterland communities.
At an interactive meeting to listen to concerns and suggestions by residents, at Koberimo Primary School, Ali said, “You are not only special because you constitute the nexus or the original people of our country being Amerindian.”
He acknowledged their hard work to overcome issues yet “have a smile on their faces and welcoming”.
“I am very happy to be recognised as one of the first cabinet ministers who would have visited this community, and I want to assure you that this would not be my last visit in anyway,” he said.
He said President Bharrat Jagdeo believes that his ministers and technicians must find themselves on the ground among the people.
“It is only when we are among you, the people, that we can understand and appreciate your problems, that we can understand the hardship that you face, and that we can find solutions with you,” he insisted.
He said they can find solutions together, adding, “I think that meetings like these offer us an excellent opportunity to work together in finding solutions to our problems”.
He also noted that they are meeting at a very historic time when not only are they celebrating another anniversary of the birth and death of Dr. Cheddi Jagan, but the first death anniversary of his wife, Janet Jagan.
He noted that Presidents Janet and Cheddi Jagan worked relentlessly and struggled very hard through very difficult times to ensure that “all our people have a better future and that we can deliver to all our people equal opportunities”.
“Equal opportunity to various services because we don’t believe that only one set of persons must benefit from our policies,” he underlined.
“We believe strongly that we must implement policies and programmes that would ensure every single Guyanese regardless of where you live have an opportunity to enjoy the fruits of the labour and the fruits that we generate from the revenue the country makes,” he assured.
He said this government welcomes criticisms that are constructive and want feedback from the people.
He went on, “We believe that the most important asset of the country is the people. The best of ideas come from the people, from you on the ground who understands the problem, who knows the problem, who live with the problem, and any decision that we make affects your lives so it is only fair that you are included in these decisions.”
Ali assured residents that they will examine various options in dealing with water issues, and encouraged the Toshao and residents to express their various ideas and suggestions to “find a way to bring relief and help to them”.
“Today, too, our country is at a very exciting time. Our President, himself, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has earned this country tremendous respect all over the world. People today know about Guyana and our President is highly respected and he is someone who is highly committed to the task of improving the lives of our people,” he declared.
He said Guyana is moving forward with a new vision that would see us bringing more revenue into the country through the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) which is a development plan outlined by the Government of Guyana seeking to do a number of things.
He said this include protecting the forest to make those who utilize the resource of the forest for economic activity to do so in a sustainable manner that will ensure that that resource remains available for all generations to come.
“So that your children and your grandchildren can enjoy the same forests we enjoy today,” he told the gathering.
The minister said it is also part of an initiative to help against global warming and climate change and to protect the environment but most importantly, “it is going to be used as an economic tool and commodity to bring money into the country.”
“So that we can utilise this money for the improvement of the lives of our people, and at the centre of this strategy is the acceleration of the development of the hinterland community especially for our Amerindian brothers and sisters,” he stated.
Reiterating that the primary beneficiary of the LCDS would be community-based development projects especially for the hinterland, he said, “I am very happy that today our country is moving in this very visionary way so that we can accelerate development, so that we can advance development, so that we can move faster towards ensuring that all of us, all of you here have a better life.”
He also noted that government is working aggressively on the development of hydro-power to ensure that energy can become cheaper in Guyana, and attract more industries and businesses hence creating more employment.
“So that we can stretch the economic benefit even in small communities like these where, of course, employment is sometimes a very serious and important issue so the development of Guyana and a focus of our development strategy have lots to bring but we have to continue to support the Government,” he stated.
Alluding to the expenditure in the social sector, he said the hinterland is of special importance to the administration, and disclosed that this year more than 34 solar systems are going to be installed across various hinterland communities.
He revealed that in the last four years in the water sector, in excess of $200M have been spent in hinterland communities, and assured that the administration will continue to invest since “we believe strongly that we must spend these resources until all our people have a better life.”
He said as Guyana moves forward, the community must think of new ways of doing things and more profitable ventures, and cited diversifying in agriculture.
He noted that in Tobago, residents are now doing aquaculture, and are presently digging some ponds for fish farming.
“We are going to work very hard to help you in diversifying your economy and livelihood options so that you can have a better living,” Minister Ali committed.
Toshao Delon Williams, said, it is a very historical occasion for the village which has a population of about 215 persons, because it is the first time that a minister of the Government is visiting the community.
Underscoring the seriousness of the water issues in Koberimo like many parts of the region, he said it is very difficult in his community, since every family has to fetch water about one mile away f
rom the nearest distance down the valley.
He said the water is not healthy, and reminded that the village had a proposal over the years to link the Barabina water pump to supply water to the village by pipelines.
“Apart from water, we were thinking to link the Barabina swamp with the Kobiremo village so it probably can be easier access to lay pipelines, and even to do housing development,” he stated with the only access to and from the village is via a creek.
He noted that there is a shallow well more than a mile away from the central part of the village which residents do not benefit directly from because of the distance and the water being unclean.
Also, he disclosed that the community has started a poultry project through the Presidential Grant, which has already begun.
“And how we have decided to work it out is that for every 30 chickens we give to each family – 30 families will be benefitting from it, and the money along with feed to last them up to six weeks which will be selling stage, and they have one year to pay back the capital of $30,000,” he explained,.
He said from every batch of chicken, each family pays back $5,000 hence at the end of the year, the community expects to accumulate the same amount of money given by the government to the village.
He said already on the third batch, and also noted that villagers plant some cash crops but again water is an issue too, but stated, “We can do better, extend and develop more with some kind of help from the government level.”
To this, Ali underscored that the government believes strongly in empowerment, stating, “We believe that if we empower you, you will be better equipped to look after yourself and your families, and that is why under the Presidential Grant, this first incentive was given to the village through the poverty programme”
He said this is what is called direct subsidy, and mentioned subsidising the cost of water for hinterland and the hot meal food programme.
“We have these direct subsidies that are aimed at improving your lives. These are all government sponsored programmes to make your lives better,” he highlighted.
To this end, he recalled that in Parliament a few weeks ago during the passing of the National Budget, the Opposition questioned “why we must have these Presidential Grants and wanted to know how important this is.”
“…but the Toshao has just outlined how important and critical this Presidential Grant is in moving away poverty and improving the lives of our people,” he emphasised.
Stressing, “Whilst we are working very hard to find various ways in improving your lives, we have to deal with a very irresponsible opposition too – an opposition that is so divorce from reality; an opposition that is so divorce from the people that they fail to understand the needs of our people. “
“Our people who are elected to represent us must become serious. They must represent our people,” he insisted, and said he is very happy that the village is benefitting from the grant.
After much consideration, GWI Hinterland Manager announced that having brought into the suggestion of linking the community with a pipeline from Barabina, this will be done within six weeks time.
However, he pointed out that it will require some collaborative effort with the community, since there is a swamp area where some work will have to be done to elevate the pipes to bring it across.
Noting that this will ensure a fresh supply of potable water, he said standpipes will be established at various points.
Regarding the water for agricultural purposes, he said GWI will have to do an assessment, and also engage the Ministry of Agriculture in this matter.
“But what I can assure you is that we will get the pipelines to link with Barabina network so that you can have your supply of potable water, and this is going to happen very shortly, and with your help, we can make this a reality” he stated.
Among concerns regarding water including ponds having dried up, the long distances to fetch water, and the quality of water.
Apart from issues relating to water, the minister also listened to other concerns which he will take back to the Cabinet level.