–President Granger tells Mocha-Arcadia residents

THE country’s economy can be revitalised through farming, packaging and enterprise at the village level, President David Granger told Mocha-Arcadia, East Bank Demerara (EBD) residents on Thursday evening.

The president was at the time delivering the feature address at a function at the Mocha Community Centre to mark the village’s 125th Anniversary.

He said persons need to learn how to package and market their products to a standard so they can be sold overseas.
“That is why I have appointed a minister of rural affairs in order to generate production in rural communities such as Mocha-Arcadia,” President Granger said. “I know what I am doing, and I am very confident that these initiatives will make communities more

prosperous,” he added.
He said productive infrastructure is also needed in the form of drainage and irrigation, which will improve production output.
Underscoring that the government is on a path of renewal, the President said that roads, bridges, health centres, water and proper electricity supplies are also needed to stimulate growth.

“I want to see solar power,” he said, adding: “God gave us the sun and not dieseline, because infrastructure must include energy! And the most reliable and cheapest form of electricity is solar; and that is sustainable!”
To build on this development trajectory of which he speaks, the president said, information technology is also essential since it bridges many gaps.
“Things are moving! This is not a time for despair; things are moving and you can assure yourselves, your children and grandchildren of a bright future!” President Granger said.
Further, he said youths are befitting from skills training in order to become self-employed.
“These initiatives came about because of the confidence you had in me and my government; it is a bond of trust, and we will continue to work for the development of this community, just as you worked for the installation of the government four years ago,” he said.

President Granger said he wants to see Mocha-Arcadia leap forward faster and further into the future, “so that all children in this village can enjoy the ‘Good Life’. Eliminate poverty! Eliminate inequality! Everybody must be educated!”

He said the government wants to instill in the people of Mocha-Arcadia the spirit of self-help which characterised the community 50 to 100 years ago.
He promised that the government will continue to work with the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) to ensure the path to progress continues, as its objective is to cooperate with residents and not dominate them.

“We want to work with you in a collaborative and consensual manner, and not in an oppressive way,” President Granger said, adding: “You are already on the road to economic and cultural emancipation.”

He explained that residents of Mocha-Arcadia have the knowledge of their forefathers and can achieve success over any obstacle.

A vibrant economy, President Granger said, will eliminate poverty, and that one way of ensuring equality is through farming at the village level.
“I drank coconut water in Indonesia; from Brazil; from the Philippines… And Guyanese coconut water is the best coconut water in the world. We have to learn to package,” he told the Mocha-Arcadia gathering.