…seniors hail ministerial outreach

SENIOR citizens were not excluded from the ministerial outreach held at the Square of the Revolution on Wednesday and many lauded the initiative and expressed satisfaction with the level of service received.

Maybell Portsmouth, a resident of Friendship, East Coast Demerara, was seated since 07:00hrs. The 75-year-old pensioner said that she was happy to be part of the event. She was optimistic about enrolling her nephew in the Guyana Defence Force and hopefully getting some of her electricity bills sorted out.

For 64-year-old Mrs. Fanfair, who accompanied her friend, it was “high time” that the government understands that officials needed to keep in touch with the people, whether supporters or not. David Ramdass, a 70- year-old from a settlement 18 miles up the Demerara River, said the turnout for the event was a signal that despite the good work that the government has been doing, much more needed to be done. The former headmaster said he was attending to get some information on his pension which was overdue for more than 25 years. He explained that he had written to the Ministry of the Presidency and received a reply, advising him to attend the outreach.

The outreach was, “a very good start despite the views from some that it might not please some people but it would assist the majority,” according to Pansy Ashton. She advised that similar outreaches be done at least every six months and in communities countrywide. The 62- year-old Sophia resident said the government has done a lot for her community and called on young people to appreciate what was being done, get registered and vote.

Retired educator Sheryl James said the day’s activity was “worth it”. She collected a lot of information to share with her students, and her problems with the National Insurance Scheme were, “partly solved” and she was happy with that.

Geva Conway, a retired nurse was of the opinion that the event “should have been done a long time ago, not at the last moment.” She advised that since the government took office “all they had to do was to sympathise with the people, so people would know where to go and who to get assistance from.” The 67-year-old, emphasised that the government needs to let the ordinary person know what is going on, with simple messages.”

Describing the outreach as a very good gesture, Clifford Zammett opined that “one day is not enough!” He added, “the fact that some booths were sparse with others overflowing was an indication that a bit more needed to be done to get this message out to the public.” The 64-year-old added that if the outreaches are going to be taken to the regions, more has to be done to inform residents. The seniors were among many others seated comfortably under tents awaiting service or being served by ministry and department officials since the early hours of the morning.

Opening the outreach, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said that it would not be a “one-off event” adding that similar activities will be conducted in communities countrywide. More than 22 ministries and government departments were represented at the outreach which attracted thousands of persons with various issues to be resolved.