Region 1 residents acknowledge developments despite Budget cuts
GOVERNMENT has, over the last five years, expended a total of $130M on various developmental works in the Kwebana Sub-Region of Region 1 (Barima/Waini). Some of the projects, which would have benefitted the region directly and others indirectly, include the Guyana Mirco Project, the German Development Fund Project and the Presidential Grant Project, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr. Collin Croal said last Friday.
Addressing residents of Kwebana during an outreach there, he said the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) led Government has been continuously working to ensure that Kwebana, like the other sub-regions, is on the road to progress and continued success.
Croal cited the roadway which leads from the Morcua Sub-Region to Kwebana and said it is one of the major developments within the area that has eased and eliminated the difficulties with which residents were faced because it was in a bad state.
“During my first visit to this area, only certain vehicles could have travelled on this road. When I came for the second time, there was an improvement. It would have taken you hours to travel from Moruca to Kwebana but now it only takes between half and an hour. These are some of the things that the PPP Government has been doing under its leadership,” he attested.
Croal said the Guyana Government has always been working to ensure there is free accessibility to resources to ensure that communities are improved in all the various aspects of development.
He stated that, even while the government continues to invest in its people with the intention of transforming Guyana’s landscape, the combined parliamentary bodies have found it fit to slash the budget, thus eliminating a number of projects, among them the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and the Presidential Grants initiative.

Programmes
Croal said those programmes were designed in such a way as to bring income which would have funded on the ground works in various regions throughout the country.
“We are at a point where we have a government that continues to invest in its people, yet the Opposition is willing to slash the budget and deprive the people,” the PS said.
He emphasised the importance of the proposals that were affected as a result of the cuts, telling residents, however, that the government is currently fighting to rectify this issue.
“The Opposition were given three weeks to justify the cuts and then we will know where to go from there…if you go anywhere in the world the President has a structure whereby he has advisers to give their views and advice on the decisions to be made,” Croal pointed out.
Chairman of Region 1, Mr. Paul Pierre, said in spite of the challenges with which it is faced, the residents must be thankful for the developments that have been evident to date.
“The people of this sub-region should be thankful since government has been paying a lot of attention to the region and, even though it might not be right away, the representations will be addressed once the resources are available,” he assured.
Turning his attention to the road projects, he said, as it is now, the route from Moruca to Kwebana has seen a drastic transformation.
“There have been major improvements in the road networks and, for the residents here, the pressure of transportation is less, not only for Kwebana but for other sub-regions,” he noted.
Pierre said had it not been for this investment by government towards the improvement of road networks, persons would have found it quite difficult to get to the central point in the region which is the Moruca Sub-Region.

Poised
He said, this year, Kwebana is poised for further development in several different areas, including education, health and agriculture.
Pierre reminded the residents that maintenance has a very high cost and urged them to make sure they play their part in caring for the works that have been carried out in the region.
“When we allow deterioration to take place, it puts a strain on the Regional Democratic Council,” he explained.
Pierre said the RDC will be dispatching maintenance teams throughout the various sub-regions in a further effort to preserve the developments in the region.
In 2012, the Kwebana Sub-Region is expected to see an extension of the health centre and more persons trained in the midwifery course and to provide additional medical attention to the residents in the area.
This is among many other interventions to be made in the sub-regions to make sure that residents in Region 1 continue to benefit equally from government resources, Pierre said.
Meanwhile, Toshao of Kwebana, John Campbell, said he is thankful for everything that the government has done to make their lives better, although there are a few areas that necessitate more attention.
He said they are pleased to know that, even while there has been major damages done to the budget, which has put their livelihoods at stake, government has been continuously making the extra effort to help the people in his sub-region.
“The Opposition cuts to the National Budget will affect us tremendously, the presidential grants for example helped the people of this community a lot, since many of them who are not employed depend wholly on that,” Campbell acknowledged.
He said the cuts have impacted the hinterland areas in many different ways, but they are cognisant of government’s commitment to the indigenous people of Guyana.