A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Member of Parliament (MP), Richard Allen wants reliable and safe drinking water to be on the list of priorities of the new Administration for Region One (Barima-Waini.)Speaking with the Government Information Agency (GINA) on Saturday, prior to attending a community meeting in Baramita, Region One, that was addressed by Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs Sydney Allicock, Allen pointed his finger at the previous administration for failing to provide a permanent solution to address the issue.
“Over the years, no form of attention was paid to water woes in Matarkai sub-region and Region One as a whole,” Allen said.
He said, too, that “nowhere in this Region can we say, ‘yes, we have potable water’,” despite the fact that the Region’s water woes have been highlighted and were public knowledge for some time.
“In Baramita here, when the rain does not fall, it is problems for people to get water and the administration had known that…we have a new Government in place, I am trusting that our ministers, after visiting the region for themselves and seeing the conditions under which residents are living, will be able to put systems in place to improve such,” he said.
He noted that, “if we do not have a healthy nation, it is as if we do not have a nation,” and water is most important for such conditions to take place.
“Now at Port Kaituma, remember two years ago, when we had the issue of 1000 persons, who had to be treated because of poor sanitation and water, and with all of that the officers, sat by and received taxpayers money, every month and did nothing to improve the system,” Allen said.
“We are going to be taking this matter up very seriously and I know the President and his team and us will work…we are saying, we are going to put it right, we are going to ensure that there is potable water for residents,” he said.
Improvement to the Region’s road network also needs urgent addressing. Allen told GINA that it took him and team almost nine hours to travel from Port Kaituma to get to Baramita for the meeting.
Allen said the Public Health Minister is aware of health issues, as he visited the Region in April (during the campaign season) and heard the complaints, as well as President David Granger when he visited in February and learnt about the shortcomings of the education system.
“So our officers have forearmed knowledge, because they have actually walked the ground and spoken with residents, so they know some of the concerns and we will be taking them up so the lives of people will be enhanced to a better standard,” Allen posited.