-Tells residents constrained resources necessitate tough decisions
President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday, in a simple ceremony, commissioned the Wakenaam Community Ground and Pavilion.
He praised the community for their unrelenting efforts, individually and collectively, which eventually realised their dreams of having a community centre and sports facility for the residents of the island.
Giving a background to the project, Chairman of the Wakenaam Nite Management Committee (WNMC), Mr. S. Ahmad, said that, previously, the young people on the island were aimless, with no real recreational facility. So in 2006, several members of the community decided to approach President Jagdeo for assistance to purchase land to establish a playground in the community. The President assented and the members of the committee identified land which was purchased.  The residents went into overdrive after this acquisition and began to prepare the ground in February of 2007, with some assistance from the NDC and the RDC.
However, the recognition that a pavilion would enhance the facility drove the residents to think-tank and strategise on ways to raise money for this eventuality, thus was born the concept of the Wakenaam Nite in June 2008.
Showcasing Wakenaam was primarily an initiative to raise funds to build the pavilion but, according to the WNMC chairman, with unstinting support from the Minister of Tourism, Mr. Manniram Prashad, Wakenaam Nite is now a calendar item of the Ministry of Tourism.  The proceeds realised at the first Wakenaam Nite totaled in excess of $1 million and the committee commenced construction of the pavilion in September of 2008.
The foundation was laid and the columns erected with self-help labour, with residents working night and day, but the funds ran out. However, the residents did not remain idle.  They ramped-up their efforts at fund-raising, which paid off.  A second successful Wakenaam Nite in 2009, along with funds generated from corporate bodies and the Diaspora, with assistance provided by the RDC and the NDC,  the pavilion – which cost an approximate $6 million – was completed.  Mr. Ahmad proudly informed the audience that two members of the Guyana under-15 team are from Wakenaam, as is National cricketer, Ramnaresh  Sarwan.
He said that the residents would continue to improve on the facilities by erecting a fence and other enhancement features.  He attributed the realization of this dream of a community centre and sports facility to the President’s initial concurrence to their request for the acquisition of the land on which the facility stand.
The plaudits for his leadership and his visionary strategies for countrywide developmental programmes, as well as his personal accomplishments in being awarded a doctorate from the Patrice Lumumba University and being conferred with the Champion of the Earth award by such an august body as UNEP, were many and sincerely fulsome from a people who unabashedly expressed their affection and respect for their President.
President Jagdeo, who seemed to be happiest among the simple people of the rural communities, said that the initiative and hard work of the residents of Wakenaam was encouraging, as this motivates the Government to intensify their efforts to work with members of communities to enhance their lives and lifestyles.
He expressed his pleasure at being able to celebrate, with the members of the community, “entrepreneurial behaviour and the spirit of partnership” that has led to the completion of such a wonderful facility.
President Jagdeo said that such partnerships lead to increased progress and consequently a better life for everyone. Explaining that, while Government would like to provide many things to better the lives of the people, the reality is that our economy, although progressively getting stronger, is ‘fragile’, given the crippling debt burden and the destruction in every sector that was inherited by this administration.
The President said that Government has been focusing on extricating the country from these inherited conditions, to the level where only 4 percent of revenue now services debt, instead of the 94 percent that once ate Guyana’s income, and that the policies needed to take the country out of this very bad situation cannot only be managed by a Government, but only if the collective energy of all the people of the land is captured can the full potential be realised and Guyana can make the necessary progress that will lead to better lives.
He stressed on the need for equity, and said that the Government has tried to manage the economy in such a way as to make it possible for every community, including Wakenaam,  Leguan and the remote hinterland regions, to share in the progress made by the Government.
He promised that, as the economy grows stronger, as it is doing, more resources will become available to enhance the lives of Guyanese, but he expressed satisfaction at the partnership between the Government and people that led to the accomplishment of the residents of Wakenaam, whereby what he called the “wonderful facility” was constructed.
He said such partnership focuses on the energy of the community, with people taking responsibility for their lives and the welfare of their community.     “If we build more of these partnerships,” said the President, “then there is encouragement on the part of Government to do more.”
He cited instances where multi-million dollar facilities were built in communities, but the input at the community level was scant, with inadequate organizational support or effective management, resulting in under-utilization and sometimes abandonment of the facility.  President Jagdeo stressed that it is the community oversight and involvement that will ensure the efficiency in the management of institutions and explained that failure of these institutions will deprive their own children and relatives of the services that should be provided at these institutions because there is a “direct benefit to the communities if these things work well.”
He spoke of the transgressions and sub-optimal output of services at these institutions, not because of a lack of resources, but because of the non-performance to capacity of paid staff who malinger on the job.  The President said that community members should not wait for visits from officials to complain, but that they have an obligation to demand changes and service at full capacity at public institutions.
He said that it is the spirit of the citizens of Wakenaam that he was moved to celebrate, because of their initiative and their achievement and their drive to succeed in their endeavour, at personal costs.  He said that the trip made to ask for the land started the process rolling, but the partnership evolved to include the NDC, the RDC, the WNMC, corporate Guyana, and the Diaspora.  He lauded the success that he said was achieved “with their energy, with their vision, and with their hard work.”
The President said that the success story and the pioneering spirit and hard work of the community of Wakenaam can be replicated, which will result in the country making faster progress.  He promised that the interest of the Government in the community will continue and mentioned the help provided during the El Nino phenomenon because he realised the hardships the farmers face when their crops fail because of drought or excessive unseasonal rainfall due to climate change.
The charismatic Guyanese Head of State also expressed his pleasure at being able to expand cultivation and consequently more income on the island and also promised that he will make available to the island a long-boom hymac, at a cost of $35 – 40 million, which will be left permanently at the services of the residents to do D & I and other infrastructural works.
He inform
ed the audience that $50 million has been allocated for roadworks, to commence within weeks on the island.
Minister of Tourism, Manniram Prashad, spoke of the popularity of the Wakenaam Nite with the members of the Diaspora, with increasing numbers returning home to participate in the calendar event each year.
After the commissioning formalities the President proceeded to Maria’s Pleasure, where he conducted a community meeting at the primary school.