Administration committed to improving communities countrywide
GOVERNMENT will be working to ensure continuity of projects and policy initiatives for further development of village economies, despite the new dispensation in the National Assembly which has seen the combined Opposition using their one seat majority to cut close to $21B from the 2012 national budget. This will result in several developmental projects being affected. Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Ganga Persaud, during a recent three-day outreach to Region 7, Cuyuni-Mazaruni, reaffirmed the Administration’s commitment to the country’s development. He was accompanied by Permanent Secretary Collin Croal.
Among the communities visited were Riverview, Faul Mouth, both near Region 10, Batavia, Kartabo, Itaballi, Karrau and Agatash.
One of the messages he took was that the government is committed to working for the good of all Guyanese, irrespective of where they live, and of their religious and political persuasion, or race.
The minister updated the residents of the budget cuts and their implications on development. The talks centered on explanations of the parliamentary composition following the November 28, 2011 elections, the budget presentation, the debates, the government/  opposition discussions before the budget cuts, and the subsequent cuts to the many agencies.
For instance, allocations to the Hinterland Electrification Programme, under the auspices of the Office of the Prime Minister, have been cut, as a result, Amerindians will no longer benefit from solar home systems. About 11,000 households were slated to benefit from this project.
Minister Persaud cited the need for further community involvement, at the village and individual levels, to deal with the constraints of the budget cuts on village livelihood and development, and indicated Government’s readiness to collaborate with the residents in this regard. The Local Government Ministry has suggested that the regions ensure that they manage their budgets carefully, so that they can deliver their programmes at less cost, and be able to use their savings to ensure that community development continues, albeit at a little slower pace.
Residents were also told of the Regional Democratic Council’s effort to improve the region’s tourism image and the need for residents to assist by setting up proper systems of maintaining and managing their garbage disposal.
They were allowed to put forward their ideas on issues of national interest, as well as suggestions to enhance their livelihood, and that of the people in the region.
Riverview and Faul Mouth are two communities in close proximity to Region 10, but the children attend the Bartica Secondary, which is nearer to them. They benefit from a boat that transports them to school, an undertaking that requires four trips daily, at 20 gallons of fuel per trip, a cost that the Region 7 administration has been complaining of not being able to maintain. The residents expressed concern and put forth the suggestion of a school being built close to their locations.
However, the Regional Executive Officers of both Regions 7 and 10 were slated to meet to discuss and work out options as it relates to the cost of the boat transportation.
Minister Persaud told residents that a secondary school at either location would not happen in the near future, as it’s a huge investment, and he suggested that perhaps the school’s dormitory at Bartica be considered by some parents.
Faul Mouth Chairman, Patricia Matthews, asked for the ministry’s assistance in constructing a multipurpose building for the holding of the village’s monthly meetings. The residents have been using the local Full Gospel Church, but were reminded that given the government’s constraints because of the budget cuts, the ministry would not be in a position to provide this kind of support in 2012. It was suggested that the residents work together to satisfy this need.
Requests were made for shot gun licences for farmers to defend against crop destruction by wild animals, and the villagers’ written request for water tanks from the Ministry of Housing and Water were among issues that the minister promised to bring to the attention of the relevant ministers.
Itaballi residents’ concerns related to squatting by some on government reserves in the community, affecting businesses and causing pollution.
Chairman, Cleveland Trotz complained of having numerous discourses with the squatters, but to no avail. This matter is to be discussed, with the aim of finding appropriate solutions with the key players and those in authority.
On his return trip, the Minister and team stopped at Saxacalli and Lanaballi, communities along the Essequibo River and held similar meetings with residents.