Reminding his audience that the PPP/C had promised a value-added drive in its Manifesto, Minister Persaud said that, as is consistently evident, whatever the Party promised in its Manifesto is being delivered through a continuum of initiatives, the newly-established kiln-drying facility to encourage value-added activities being merely one component of that national development thrust. Chairman of the proceedings was Mr. Derrick Cummings of the Essequibo Kiln Drying Association.
Mrs. Carol Benjamin, Secretary of the Essequibo Kiln Drying Association welcomed the participants to the event, with a project overview delivered by Mr. Edward Goberdhan, Finance Head of the GFC.
Remarks were also made by Chairman of Region Two, Mr. Alli Baksh who should be commended for the pristine cleanliness of the Region under his watch.
Almost everyone in the visiting party opined that the Essequibo Coast is seemingly the most prosperous county in Guyana.  It is certainly the cleanest.
Residents, whose homes and environment are impeccably clean and extremely beautiful, with kitchen gardens in almost every yard, say that their D&I systems are so well-maintained that they never experience flooding.
They lauded the Government for its continued support to the development of their Region, which was merely a decade-and-a-half ago suffering from a severe socio-economic crisis and infrastructural devastation, with major income-earner, the rice industry, practically at a standstill, until its resuscitation in the 1990’s.
All of the persons to whom the Chronicle spoke expressed their appreciation for the Government’s support for the establishment of the kiln-drying facility, which will further add to wealth-creational opportunities in the region.
During the visit to Region Two, Minister Persaud also delivered the feature address at the Charity Secondary School’s 15th Graduation and Prize-giving ceremony, as well as met with farmers at the Mainstay/Whytaka community of Princeville, where he addressed the concerns of the farmers and distributed incentive monies to encourage enhanced productivity in their farming operations.