…PM urges West Demerara residents

EVEN as Guyana will undoubtedly benefit from oil and gas production commencing 2020, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo has urged residents of Essequibo Islands-West Demerara (Region Three) to remain grounded in agriculture.

He made the call at the Tuschen Primary School on Sunday evening during a meeting with residents as part of a wider multi-ministerial outreach there. Prior to attending to the concerns and needs of those Region 3 residents at the meeting, Minister Nagamootoo made a short presentation on the perspective Guyanese should take, especially those inclined to agriculture, as the country heads into 2020.

To bring his point into focus, he spoke to the government’s plans to bridge the Essequibo River, which plan, he explained, would open up a large expanse of land to agricultural and economic development.

“It is possible, in the not-too-distant-future that we’ll be able to bridge the waters of the Mighty Essequibo, and we can go right on to the Essequibo Coast,” The Prime Minister said, adding: “Great, vast expanses of land will be opened for agriculture; for industrial development. Because, in the Essequibo, there is high quality white sand; granite; stones [and] fresh water. We have everything that it takes to build industries at cheap costs, and we have what it takes to develop agriculture on a mass base.”

He told the people that strategically located as they are on the banks of the Essequibo River, they will be among the first to benefit from the pending development. He also urged them not to be caught up with the immediate benefits of oil, as he used neighbouring Venezuela as an example of one of the world’s former richest countries but its people now scavenge for food due to poor revenue management.

The Prime Minister, along with other members of government, has long pushed for Guyana’s natural resource revenues to be used primarily for the sustainable development of the country. In keeping with this position, he urged members of the audience,: “When new lands will be developed, you have to ensure that you set your sight on agricultural lands; lands for dairy; fishing or aquaculture.”

He also stated that the government’s focus will also be placed on injecting money into health, education and other areas which fuel long-term development.

On the topic, he said that this is why the budget for health has been increased from $23B to $36B from 2015 to 2019, as if citizens remain healthy, the country has a better chance at achieving its desired wealth.

“In a matter of months, Guyana will start producing oil and we will be a rich country. We need the financial resources, the revenue from our oil to be able to inject into doing the infrastructure work to build more roads, to build more bridges; to repair public buildings, schools, hospitals, health centres,” he said.

The prime minister expressed his full confidence that the government will remain in power, and thanked citizens for sticking with the Administration, by understanding the bigger picture at hand.

Moving into the question-and-answer segment with residents, Shondell Lynch, who teaches at Tuschen Primary, which is so badly overcrowded, that she appealed to the PM to have the building extended.

She said that the situation is so bad that the school’s library, kitchen and other non-classroom areas had to be used to hold classes, due to the increasing number of pupils in attendance. Following her remarks, she was assured that a proposal for the extension of the building will be included in the Region’s 2020 Budget proposal.

In her remarks, the teacher pledged that the school, in turn, will continue to work with pupils to lift their academic performance.

Meanwhile, Brian Phillips, a Tuschen resident, raised the concern that in his area he does not receive water bills, and before he is made aware of his balance, the water is cut off.
Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) Managing Director, Dr. Van West-Charles, who was present, said that while some customers may claim they are not receiving bills, it is also the customer’s responsibility to know the routine payment period for their services used. He also said that the GWI is developing a GEO-tagging system which will allow the company to know for certain whether bills are distributed or not.

At the meeting, one Mr. Cleveland, who spoke on behalf of the Tuschen Volunteer Corps, encouraged the government to invest in recreational activities in the Region. He had, in his possession, a proposal to submit to the Ministry of the Presidency’s Department of Youth for the construction of an indoor recreational facility. Prime Minister Nagamootoo assured that the matter will be looked into.