— infrastructural development high on the agenda

DEVELOPMENT is on stream in Region Nine and the regional administration is working to ensure that the local infrastructure is enhanced.
Prior to 2015, there were many attempts at infrastructural development, but the work was not done to any good standard, said Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Nine, Carl Parker, in an invited comment on Thursday.

He said when the current administration took over in 2015, in a very short while the infrastructure started to crumble and with the region being as big as it is, it was a task to really arrest the situation.

“We are now getting there with the construction of better roads, even though the road leading into Lethem from Georgetown is in a bad state… that is expected once the rain falls, but internally we are doing better roads and bridges,” said Parker.
Just recently, a bridge leading to Yupukari, which was burnt, was redone with reinforced concrete and a wood decking.

The region is also embarking on a project to build two bridges in the Moca Moca farmland area. Those bridges will enable the community to access their farmlands which stretch over 5,000 acres.

On the health front, the region is also making good strides. The region had budgeted for the extension of the Lethem Hospital, but the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health, plans to retrofit the hospital.
“With PAHO’s plan, we now have to approach the Ministry of Finance to divert funds from the Lethem Hospital to the Karasabai Health Centre,” said Parker.

DENTAL X-RAY UNIT
At the centre, the region will be doing a room to house the dental x-ray unit so that the residents of South Pakarima can have access to complete dental services.
The region will also be extending the pharmacy since the current facility has inadequate space to store the amount of drugs to cater for all the residents in Karasabai.

Parker said mobilisation has also been improved since the region acquired two ambulances. One of the ambulances was sent to Aishalton and another was sent to Annai. The region now has five ambulances which they have acquired since 2015.

“It is our hope that every sub-region can have an ambulance…we have some savings this year from our land and water transport allocations and we will approach finance to use that savings to acquire another ambulance,” said Parker.

He went on to say that there is more in the pipeline for Annai, as the region plans to extend the maternity ward. The region recently commissioned a maternity waiting home in Annai, so the extension of the ward will complement the new facility.
The regional administration also plans to extend the hospital at Aishalton, as part of an effort to provide more services. Part of the extension will be to rehabilitate and extend the doctor’s quarter.

STRUGGLES IN EDUCATION
While the health sector remains on a positive course, there have been some challenges in the education sector, said Parker.

He said the region’s results at the last National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) were testimony to the fact that the education sector needs special attention.

Although assistance is needed on a technical level, Parker said the region was able to reduce the number of untrained teachers from 73 per cent to 55 per cent since 2015.
He said the administration has been working with all stakeholders to ensure that classrooms are child-friendly and to ensure that sanitary facilities are functional.

“We have rehabilitated a lot of sanitary facilities…what we discovered was that the facilities were built but not linked to any water system, so it was just a building,” said Parker, adding that they have not only rehabilitated the facilities, but ensured that they are in working order.

The regional administration has also been working closely with the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) to drill wells. Wells were drilled in Aishalton, Nappi, Aranaputa and other communities.

“What we have done, apart from drilling wells, we have run pipelines to ensure that homes in those communities are having water,” he said.

Development is very much on stream, said Parker, noting that to aid in all of that, the regional administration has rehabilitated and extended the regional administration building because they have more persons entering the regional system.

“We had to increase the complement of staff although we do not have the quality we would want, but it is providing jobs for young people out of school and we have a very young workforce…, at least 65 per cent of the workforce is below 35 years,” said Parker.