RESIDENTS of  Manawarin in the Barima-Waini region are calling for urgent intervention in solving the problem of students’ absenteeism at the St Nicholas Primary School in the village. According to a report from the Government Information Agency (GINA), residents attributed the situation to transportation issues, caused by the fact that more than 90 percent of the school’s students  travel  by river from three points, five to nine miles  away from the school.
This translates to paddling for over two to three hours in the dry weather, and in the wet season, most if not all of the students do not come out to school.
Residents were resolute that urgent attention should be given to resolving the issue, when they met with Minister in the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Norman Whittaker and regional officials over the weekend.
Manawarin was among six communities; the others being Waramuri, Haimacabra, Cabrora, Morcupha and Kumaka that the minister held meetings with residents during the weekend as part of a ministerial outreach to the region.
As it relates to the need for transportation to aid in education delivery, GINA said Minister Whittaker promised to bring it to the attention of Cabinet. He also enlightened residents that under the education delivery capital projects for 2013, Manawarin is among three communities that will benefit from $1M each, for the procurement of  dug-out canoes and 15hps engines to transport students to and from school.        
The other villages that will also benefit from this intervention are Santa Cruz and Warapoka. This intervention will bring some relief to transportation concerns in the intermediate level, Minister Whittaker pointed out.
Manawarin residents also called for immediate repairs to their health building, a provision that is also covered under the region’s 2013 budget of $2.5M. Minister Whittaker told residents that the regional administrative staff will soon visit the community to inspect, with the village’s Toshao and councillors to determine the priority areas that will be addressed under the allocation.
In Waramuri, Minister Whittaker told residents of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport’s, Community Ground Enhancement Project, after one resident asked for assistance in developing the community ground to facilitate the playing of football.  
According to this resident, the youths in the village had already, through fundraising, brought some level of intervention to the ground, but they lacked resources to get it to the full standard that it must achieve.
In 2012, the Sports Ministry commenced the programme under which it gave $1M to communities to do work in this regard and to push efforts aimed at encouraging youths to get more involved in sporting activities.
Concerns were also raised about the upgrading of roads linking Waramuri to other communities in the region. Over $11M is provided for in Budget 2013 for the cutting, filling, compacting, grading and shaping of culverts, drains and shoulders for roads in Moruca and Mabaruma sub-regions. Minister Whittaker said the region would work out which roads in the sub-region will be provided for under the allocation.
In Haimacabra, residents differed on whether they need government’s assistance with a land cruiser or a tractor to help with transporting students and to bring vegetables from Moruca into the villages. The residents were advised to work out which mode of transportation will be more suitable and how, if provided, would the vehicle be sustained. GINA reported that Government will, in time, as resources are available, seek to assist the village with the identified transportation.
Residents of Haimacabra also called for a Nursery School for the village. Minister Whittaker promised that this could be provided if there are enough children of nursery school age in the village, resources to construct the facility and to furnish the building and staff to conduct the classes.
Among other promised interventions, are supplies for fighting Acoushi ants, solar panel supplies and increasing the coverage of the Learning Channel.
During the outreach, Minister Whittaker reminded residents that the PPPC Government has always demonstrated in practice its commitment to putting resources in those critical areas of development that are important to ensuring a good life for the people.
“All over this region, whatever resources we have as a Government, we are using these resources, allocating them to the various areas,” he told residents.
This year, Government has increased the amount of resources allocated to Region One from $209.5M in 2012 to $243.7M in 2013. This  will cover the upgrade to the Moruca Power House ($3M) and upgrade to the health buildings inclusive of Kamwatta’s Health Hut ($2M), the Sisters Living Quarter in Moruca ($3.5M), and the Medex Living Quarter in Kwebanna, ($1.5M), among other things.
Repairs will be facilitated to a number of education buildings such as Santa Rosa Nursery Father Beach teachers’ quarter, Santa Rosa Primary Sanitary Block, Santa Rosa Primary Male Dorm, and Santa Rosa Secondary.
The region will also benefit from several infrastructural interventions.
Under the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs’ budget, communities such as Warapoka will be supplied with $1.5M through the Amerindian Development Fund (ADF) as a grant for the construction of a hotel kitchen. A tractor costing $8.8M will also be purchased for Manawarin.