The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development yesterday met with residents of several villages along the Berbice River as part of its continued efforts of meeting with residents in the interior and other locations.

The visits were done by senior officers of the Ministry and were  spearheaded by Permanent Secretary Colin Croal and Hinterland Coordinator and former Minister of Local Government, Harripersaud Nokta.
Mr. Nokta and his team visited  the Wiruni and Calcuni Amerindian communities, while Permanent Secretary Colin Croal and his team visited the communities of Develdt, Sandhills and Kimbia.
Also accompanying the teams were Deputy Regional Executive Officer (DREO)  of Region 10, Maylene Stephen; assistant Regional Executive Officer; Devon Bremmer and Fabion Jerrick and Bramhanand Singh, municipal service officer-1 and Special Projects Officer respectively, both of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development.
Over at Wiruni the DREO who has been working with the Berbice riverian communities since 2001 explained to the residents gathered that the meeting was to hear from them and address the issues which affect them. She added that it was also to seek advice from the residents there on the best course of action and programmes that will benefit their communities meaningfully.
She cautioned the residents against believing that because of their distant location from the regional administrative office that they are not being considered.
Stephen further explained that it is in the interest of the regional authority to nevertheless serve residents in the best possible ways. She reminded residents that because of the distance that exists its is very important for the Toshaos of those communities to keep in contact with the regional authority, so that arising issues can be addressed adequately and from a more informed position.
The DREO spoke to the residents of running programmes such as the solar electricity project which has been successfully completed. There is also the shallow well project which has also been completed but is not serving the residents well since they are complaining of the taste of the water.
However there is a trestle which is being constructed to ease that problem. The water from the shallow well which is unable to be used for drinking is being utilised for washing in the community.
The community of Wiruni was also able to benefit from the assistance of a training session, where two young men from the community were able to receive training and accommodation in Linden in the maintenance and repairs of solar panels. At the moment the community is experiencing some  problems with their land phones and are only able to receive calls.
Hinterland coordinator and former local government minister Harripersaud Nokta took the residents through the journey of development that the government has been piloting the country through from 1992 to date.
Mr. Nokta pointed out that persons need to be more serious about the way they operate and called on them to value the money which is spent in their communities since at the end of the day, the money being spent by the government is actually taxpayers’ dollars.
He pointed to a school in the community which is now in a state of disrepair because of the decision by some dishonest contractor to use poor quality materials which in essence resulted in substandard work.
Toshao of the village Telford Anthony King expressed his gratitude for the team’s visit and urged that there must be more working together if persons want to see more  being done in their communities.
He said that while persons may not agree with everything that Nokta would have said yesterday, but there is an understanding that one sometimes need to look back at where the country came from and where its heading. He added that it is evident there have been development.
According to King, the main areas of focus are education, health and communication. He said much development and improvements were recently promised in those areas by one of the local government minister who also assured that its will be stream line within the next four years.
The community is also asking for additional transportation to serve not only his community but other communities along the river.
He explained to Mr. Nokta and his team that with the absence or adequate and reliable means of water transport for the river communities, economic activities are being slowed.
It was also pointed out that there is one boat which serves the stretches along the river and that is sometimes overloaded beyond capacity in an effort to serve everyone.
King stated that with the christmas season approaching its is expected to be even worst since everyone will be trying to get their purchases in and out of the communities.
In addition persons who wish to take their children out on various outings for the season end up endangering their lives by contributing to the overloading.
The residents of the village said it is not the first time the transportation is being raised and all they continue to get is promises.
At the moment the community is in need of a medic and proper health care and administration. The visiting team of local government officials were informed that residents have to travel distances to access health care and in addition to that he only medication which actually available to persons in the village are aspirins and pain killers.
Another sour issue raised yesterday was the absence of a midwife in the Berbice River which forces pregnant mothers to travel all the way to New Amsterdam to deliver babies.
Mr. King stated what has been happening recently is that Amerindian women who are pregnant are no longer going through traditional delivery process and methods and have to  undergo surgery when going to deliver babies. He said that is not a norm for his people and it affects them for life.
The community also raised the issue of poor communication in the area especially with the absence of a cell tower by either of the mobile service providers in Guyana.
One resident said that while the community is aware that should any of the phone companies be asked to erect a cell tower in the area they issue of feasibility will arise. The resident however stressed that there is enough persons who are in need of the service and who will utilize the service one its made available. He said that the move will benefit the entire Berbice River.
It was pointed out that while many of the residents in the area are in possession of cell phones they are unable to use them while in their communities because of the unavailability of cell towers. At the moment the residents are only able to use their mobile phones whenever they enter surrounding communities.
The residents also asked about receiving laptops for their community and the securing of 23 other solar panels for households in the community which were not able to benefit from the initial distribution process. To those two requests Mr. Nokta promised that they will be looked into.
Meanwhile at another meeting at Calcuni, the residents were told that its was an avenue for them to raise concerns as well speak of programs which were implemented in the community and which have worked well.
Like their sister community the residents of Calcuni also spoke of better medical services, telecommunication and solar panels. And one lap top per family. The residents also asked for there to be a school constructed closer to their communities since traveling out of those communities to go to school either in New Amsterdam, Linden or Kwakwani is very hard for students.
The former minister of the government said that the area has truly reflected growth and transformation. Nokta stated that the fact that the population in those areas are growing and the man children present in the communities are signs that the future of the country is secured.
He however cautioned the parents that while they are responsible for bringing the children into the world there is a bigger responsibility of ensure that their social needs are taken care of.
According the hinterland coordinator, while much has been done in the communities there is still the room available for much more to be done and as such wasting must not be a feature or fixture in the developmental process since Guyana is still a developing country and needs every bit of its resources.