PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar’s promise to expedite repairs to the road around the island of Wakenaam in the Essequibo River was welcomed with loud cheers from patrons who attended the 5th annual Wakenaam Nite in their numbers. The promise came with an acknowledgement that the issue has been a source of concern for residents and an assurance by the Head of State that the government has not been oblivious to the challenges.
The intervention came as welcome news for farmers in particular, whose effectiveness in transporting produce to the marketplace hinges on improvements to the infrastructure.
“We are going to do our best to try to maintain it, and eventually to get you a better road as our economy improves from strength to strength,” President Ramotar told the gathering.
Two years ago, a $50M road maintenance project was announced for Wakenaam when former President Bharrat Jagdeo visited the island to commission the new community centre pavilion.
At that time, work had started on developing a 26-acre plot of land into the first ever airstrip at Maria’s Pleasure, on the eastern end of the island, on which the government had spent $14M.
Toolsie Persaud, a well known entrepreneur and resident of Wakenaam, accompanied President Ramotar on a spot check of the airstrip minutes before departing the island.
Private Sector Commission member Jerry Gouveia joined Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn and Acting Minister of Tourism, Irfaan Ali during the spot check.
“The airstrip that we built here, many people had criticised it; but that would be a very important factor in the development of tourism, because many tourists organise their travels in packages. I know that many people are already thinking that they can get a package to take tourists to the Kaieteur and have lunch or dinner on Wakenaam, so that they can have an opportunity to see another part of the country with totally different physical characteristics,” President Ramotar said at the opening of Wakenaam Nite 2012.
The Ministry of Tourism Industry and Commerce has conceptualised a plan for Wakenaam to be included in an Essequibo Tourism Circuit that will create an attractive tourist environment for farming and fishing.