— Harmon tells Achiwuib residents

MINISTER of State Joseph Harmon on Saturday told the residents of the South Rupununi village of Achiwuib that his government is on a trajectory for development and this must be reflected in the smallest village and community across the length and breadth of Guyana.
Reliable information on this developmental thrust must be disseminated to all Guyanese so that the residents themselves can challenge those who may come with misleading information that the government has forgotten hinterland villages, Harmon said.

The minister and a regional team were welcomed into the village with dances, songs and a standing ovation before being garlanded. In his address to the residents, the minister of state said the purpose of the ministerial outreach to the villages is to merely listen to the concerns of the people and to bring needed solutions to them so that all Guyanese can enjoy the good life.

“Every inch of every metre of this country is important to us, so there is nothing like a long journey; Guyana is Guyana and every part of Guyana is important… I am here today as your servant, as a public servant, as a minister of the government and that is why I am here; to listen, to hear you. You who are masters and you are the ones who voted us into office and you are the ones who will keep us in office, so it important that we understand what it is that affects you so that we can fix it,” the minister said.

In the recent past, Region Nine has benefitted from tremendous development and Harmon highlighted these to the Achiwuib residents. He spoke of the pure water facilities with assistance from the Brazilian army which will be soon followed by the laying of pipes which will enable residents of Achiwuib and other South Rupununi villages to access water through taps.

“When we speak of the good life of all Guyanese, we mean that the good life must come to every Guyanese, so if you never had water, the good life means getting water to you; if you never had a radio, the good life means getting information and radio to you; if you never had electricity in any form, the good life means getting that to you and so your government is on a trajectory, is on a path to developing this country, house by house, community by community, village by village, town by town and all across this country, we will develop it in an equitable manner,” he said. The provision of fresh water wells also came with a two-fold benefit since the main thoroughfare throughout South Rupununi was upgraded to facilitate this process.

BETTER ROAD
While the residents were appreciative of this, they pleaded for the road to be done to a better standard, since it will deteriorate during the rainy season in its present state.

Harmon was not all talks to the residents but they were recipients of handsome gifts. These included an ATV bike which was presented to the Basharizun Health Worker. This is a satellite village to Achiwuib and residents, in expressing their concerns, raised the need for that form of transportation to expeditiously transport residents to the village’s health post.

Without even knowing that Friday would have been their lucky day, Harmon surprised them with the ATV. He urged the health worker to use the transportation for its purpose as it is a service to the entire village and to improve their health care system. A motorcycle was also donated to the village, in addition to clothes, footwear and, most importantly, farming tools to aid in their production of cassava and other ground provision. The residents of Achiwuib noted that farming is one of their main economic activity and this fine gesture is a great boost in this regard.

Some of the major concerns raised by the residents include the improvement of their educational and sporting facilities, the provision of birth certificates– since most of the children are home-birthed– timely payment for sweeper-cleaners, provision of a school bus to take students to the Aishalton Secondary School and land titling.

Minister Harmon made commitments to upgrade the sporting facilities and to make representation with the regional officials and the requisite ministers on the matters that were raised. Toshao of Achiwuib, Vanessa Richard, said she is pleased with Harmon’s visit as it brought hope to the residents that they are not forgotten.

She also lauded the government for the initial works done on the roads while looking forward for works to continue, the provision of presidential grants which funded projects in the village and the provision of the HEYS programme which enabled some youths in the village to become employed.