THE Ministry of Tourism and the Guyana Tourism Authority
(GTA) collaborated with the Wakenaam Night Committee to successfully hold Wakenaam Night activities, last Saturday evening at the Wakenaam Community Centre Ground. Activities were held in concert with other weekend festivities around that Essequibo River community of Wakenaam Island.

Entourage
Events were graced by the presence of President Donald Ramotar, who was making his first visit to the Wakenaam community as President of Guyana.

The presidential entourage, comprising acting Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali, Public Works Minister Robeson Benn, and Private Sector Commission member Jerry Gouveia — all of whom were garlanded by the children of Wakenaam — was greeted in a very warm welcome at the Wakenaam Airstrip, with dancing and tassa drumming, minutes before the highly anticipated Fifth Annual Wakenaam Nite activities officially commenced.

President Donald Ramotar was greeted at the Community Centre Ground by Wakenaam’s top CSEC performer, Omeleta Balgobin, who gained one distinction, seven grade ones and five grade twos at the recent sitting of the CSEC.

Hailing from Karia Karia, Essequibo River, President Ramotar stated that at the time he lived there, Wakenaam was one of the main centres from which Karia Karia residents got their supplies; so, in a way, he considers Wakenaam a second home for him.

The President hailed Balgobin’s high-quality performance as an indication that Government’s investments in education have been beneficial.

He said: “Before the PPP/Civic came to government, you only had a few schools, all of them concentrated in Georgetown, where you had these kinds of results. Nowadays, we see that our passes have increased. More and more of our children are writing examinations.”

The President related that there are 1000 or more schools Government has built since taking office in 1992; and opportunities available in the hinterland at the primary and secondary levels are now tremendous.

President Ramotar noted that Government has a vision to revolutionise Guyana’s economy with construction of a deep water harbour, hydropower, oil and gas extraction, and the important role agriculture continues to play, especially in the promotion of food security.

New developments
In brief yet meaningful remarks to the community, Minister Benn spoke of all the work his ministry has done for the island of Wakenaam. He also mentioned that two new airstrips are in the pipeline for Wakenaam and Leguan islands, but he did not specify when works will begin on those projects.

Minister Benn also noted that he has been working for a better Guyana, and he promised that people will see even more work being done to the infrastructure at Wakenaam.

Residents and visiting dignitaries present lauded his disclosures.

Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister(acting) Irfaan Ali, during remarks made at Wakenaam Night Concert, held to showcase Guyanese talent and bring in revenue to cover some of the expenses of the event, said Wakenaam Night would open new opportunities, new economic frontiers, for the Wakenaam residents.

While the event is mainly tourism-based, the minister said, the GTA is looking at utilizing same as a platform to launch micro-enterprise business projects on the island.

Minister Ali said “It is our belief that Wakenaam has tremendous potential in the tourism sector, and we are going to work with the people of Wakenaam to develop what we call ‘community-based tourism’, where we are going to involve the community in the development of a tourism product that is sustainable.”

In a pamphlet distributed at the event, the GTA said that in continuing to place focus on promoting the development of tourism at Wakenaam, the Wakenaam Night event also sought to create and expand signature projects and activities for the island.

Various delights
Omeleta Balgobin was awarded a trip to Kaieteur Falls for her performance at the CSEC; and two free tickets — to the United States of America (USA) and Canada respectively – were awarded to lucky winners of EZJet’s promotion, to the delight of patrons at the event.

Terry Gajraj, Brandon Harding, and the Angels Caribbean Band from the USA provided musical entertainment at the event, along with a few other local and international artistes.

There was also an African Fashion Show chaired by the sensational Joel Ghansham, which patrons at Wakenaam Night, who attended in their thousands, deemed a fantastic, fun-filled event.

Tourists who bought packages from GTA faced a fun filled weekend, as they were treated to various attractions on the island, such as the “pottery man”, who displayed his talents with pride; followed by demonstrations from his five-year-old daughter, who awed the visitors with her exceptional skill and talent in pottery making. There was also the coconut oil factory, and a rice mill.

Visitors were satisfied that the $10,000 they had expended on the trip were well spent, and they promised their patronage to the GTA for other trips and packages.

Some visitors were even reluctant to leave the island and return home.