…as ‘Meet the people’ exercise rolls into Region Two

RESIDENTS of Region Two were reminded that government has their interest at heart, hence the reason the region was chosen for the sixth government outreach exercise aimed at bringing government services to the people.

This was the message of Minister of Social Protection and Government’s Chief Whip, Amna Ally, who addressed the scores of women, men, youths and elderly who flocked Damon’s Square, Anna Regina to have their issues solved and concerns voiced. Ally was accompanied by a number of other ministers and top government officials, including Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo; Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan; Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson; Minister of Youth Affairs, Simona Broomes; Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture, Valarie Yearwood; Minister of Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes, amongst others.

Ally, in her opening remarks, urged the residents to dispel the rhetoric that Essequibo is the opposition’s stronghold and that the government does not care about the region. “Some people say that Essequibo does not belong to this coalition government, but that has changed, Essequibo is all of us,” she said. Ally urged residents to take stock of the developmental works in the region – all aimed at bringing the good life to all Guyanese. “It is this coalition government that has brought the development to you, my dear people, Essequibo belongs to all of us, Essequibo you are not left out in anyway. This government truly believes in giving every citizen of this country, a good life,” she said.
She further urged them to take the opportunity to tap into the services at their hand reach and not to be afraid of letting their voices be heard.
Available to the residents for the day were the services of over 20 main government organisations. These include: the Ministries of the Presidency, Agriculture, Telecommunications, Communities, Business, Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), National Insurance Scheme (NIS), Guyana Lands and Survey Commission (GLSC), etc. Ally said that the “Meet the people Exercise”, is not just a “put on a show exercise”, but a genuine effort to bring relief to Essequibians, so they don’t have to travel to Georgetown to receive same. “We are not here to put on this as a show. This is one of the many government outreaches that we are conducting throughout Guyana, we call this activity, taking the government to the people, we have come to you on this occasion,” she said.

GLORIOUS DAY

Regional Executive Officer (REO), Denis Jaikaran, described the day as a glorious one for the region. He commended the government for genuinely demonstrating care for the residents by bringing the various services to them. “They are providing for us an opportunity, an opportunity that was never given before 2015 and so this morning our ministers are here to give us the services we so desire.”
After the opening ceremony, the scores of residents reached out to ministers, officials and officers at the various booths. While all had favourable intake, the booths that were flocked the most were Central Housing and Planning Authority; Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Social Protection (MoSP). Several fortunate residents, who waited years for house lots, were allocated same on the spot. One of these was mother of three, Edelle Smith, who was allocated a house lot after waiting since 2012.
Mostly the elderly and the differently-abled visited the NIS booth and the MoSP booth concerning public assistance and pensions. Agril Bacchus of Queenstown Village related, “there were some glitches with my years of service. I went to find out about my contributions and they said I am missing services from 1992-1998 and I am ready to receive pension by August, because I am turning 60, so today I was able to reach a far way in getting my contributions updated,” she related.

FARMERS
Scores of farmers, particularly rice farmers flocked the Ministry of Agriculture booth concerning drainage and irrigation issues. Chief Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), Mr. Frederick Flatts, committed to bringing solutions to the issues in the next two weeks.

In addition, several youths also visited the outreach in search of jobs and submitted their applications to various entities, in hopes of a positive response. Two teenagers related that they completed school last year, and were part of the temporary programme at the RDC, but now that it has been completed, they are desperate for a job. They approached the MoSP booth for advice on the way forward.

Minister of Business, Haimraj Rajkumar, was elated that the outreach was brought to his home town. “It is not because I am a minister, we really accept and welcome the government to Region Two…this government is a caring government and it is demonstrating its ability and willingness to take care of its people,” he said. Wednesday’s event was the sixth government outreach held in 2019. The next one is expected to be held in Bartica in a matter of weeks.