A solar farm, road works and improvements to water quality are just some of the ways in which the small community of St. Cuthbert’s Mission will be upgraded in the near future.

Residents were made aware of this, on Sunday, during an outreach to their community by several ministers. Present were Ministers of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock, and Valerie Garrido-Lowe; Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr. George Norton, and others.
Raising one of the concerns, one resident stated that electricity is provided to the community by generator for only some four hours daily and that affected the hours for which students and teachers could do after-school work.

“Guyana is going green, the whole world is going green and I think it’s time that St. Cuthbert’s gets some green plan so that we can utilise renewable energy,” the resident said.

In response, Minister Allicock stated that plans were in place to significantly improve on electricity. “We discussed this matter with the Council and there is a plan to bring some relief. This community is identified for a solar farm and I will remind the Minister of Public Infrastructure that the people are waiting,” he said.

In the meanwhile, he stated that the government will keep afloat the village’s generator through the Council. Another resident requested that water in the village be tested; for the water pressure to be improved and for a new well to be constructed.

“I think this is very, very crucial because if you’re going to do agriculture, if you’re going to survive, you need adequate water. The drive for the government is to ensure that every community, every person, is supplied with potable water,” Minister Allicock said.
He assured that the concerns will be brought to the attention of (GWI’s) Managing Director, Dr. Richard Van-West Charles, who is well-known for his relentless efforts in ensuring efficient water supply to communities.

Regarding the conditions of the roads, the Ministers noted that they are aware of the poor conditions and plans are in place to make improvements

“I understand from the Council that the Ministry of Infrastructure came in. We are aware of this trail from the main road and things are in place, it’s just to get the timing and the funds to make things happen but you are in our plans,” Minister Allicock assured.
Even as he updated the people on the current political situation, he also noted that soon more monies will be made available to the government to assist communities as a bright future lies ahead.

He stated that under the coalition government and just days ago, Guyana was listed as the fastest growing economy in the world, with a projected growth rate of 16.3 per cent from 2018-2021 by the NASDAQ Stock Market. Allicock also informed that Guyana has been named the “Best Eco-tourism” destination in the world which forms a part of priorities taken on by government now reaping rewards.

With this in mind, he implored that communities such as St. Cuthbert’s Mission must develop a proper plan for its development in partnership with the government and non-government organisations (NGOs). This, he explained, would ensure that the community will be among the many which will benefit from Guyana’s oil economy and the spill off.
Notwithstanding the coming of oil, Minister Valerie Garrido-Lowe urged residents to take up collaborative, large scale farming projects which can stand to better benefit the community as opposed to individual farming.

“We want you to do better. We’re not only giving you a tractor and ATV and things like that, we want to make sure that we sit and plan with you and you agree to this plan and understand this plan and commit to it. Then government is going to invest in it and together we’ll see that you grow and earn,” she said.

To another concern raised, she also gave the commitment that the government can assist with training persons to play a set of musical instruments they received in the past but had no tutors for such. She also urged them to participate in upcoming activities such as the Heritage Pageant and the re-training in indigenous languages in villages.

Speaking too, former RDC Chairman of Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), Vincent Henry, informed residents that there were many opportunities for development in the village and villagers must not allow these opportunities to pass by.

One avenue through which they can receive support for their ideas he highlighted was the Government’s Sustainable Livelihood and Entrepreneurial Development (SLED) Programme. He assured them that the lone programme has benefitted numerous indigenous communities in the Rupununi, through small projects and businesses, and can do the same for St. Cuthbert’s Mission.