MANY persons turned up at Congress Place, Sophia on Friday to have face-to-face interaction with Minister Nicolette Henry, the minister within the Ministry of Education who has responsibility for Culture, Youth and Sport; and several issues were raised during those interactions.

When Guyana Chronicle visited Congress Place, Minister Henry had already met with several citizens, while about 30 persons of various age groups, including adults with schoolchildren, and the elderly, waited their turn to interact with the minister, even as Parliament was in session.

A live broadcast of the parliamentary budget debate was streaming live through a surround sound system, and the Opposition Leader, former President Bharrat Jagdeo, was criticising the 2017 budget.

Minister Henry told Guyana Chronicle that the public meeting has been fruitful, as citizens have embraced the opportunity to tell their stories and seek solutions to their problems.
She was thankful for the opportunity to lend a helping hand to the public in a greater way than usual.

“I do meet with members of the public every Tuesday at my office…. This is much broader than my own Ministry issue,” Minister Henry told Guyana Chronicle.

She said Friday’s interactions have seen a number of issues raised in a range of areas, and persons requesting Government’s intervention.

During Minister Ally’s meet on November 18, Minister Henry said, several persons had turned up to meet the minister, including an attorney-at-law who proposed several projects for the work of the Ministry of Social Cohesion.

At the next scheduled public meet, on December 16, Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix, will meet the public.
Minister of Housing, Valerie Patterson, and Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson, will be hosting separate meetings on December 23 and December 30 respectively.

The ministers’ meeting with the public at Congress Place, which began on November 4, 2016, has already seen hundreds of citizens embracing the opportunity to make proposals and air their concerns to Government.