The APNU+AFC coalition reassures citizens that it will continue to develop the country and move in the direction of ensuring that every Guyanese throughout the length and breadth benefits from the country’s resources. These developments will not be only directed toward development of communities, but toward education, healthcare, and infrastructure, this was according to Minister of State, Dawn Hastings Williams, who spoke on INSIGHT, VOG 102.5FM.

Bridging the gap between the Coastland and Hinterland
Hastings-Williams, stated that the government is moving toward bridging the gap between the hinterland and the coastland, and so it has been making significant strides to ensure that several infrastructural changes are implemented. According to the Minister of State the commissioning of a new road in Lethem this weekend is slated to be one of these new developments.

“As a government we have been talking about bridging the gap between the hinterland and the coastland and we do not just talk the talk we also walk the walk, and by that I mean, we have been making significant strides to actually bridge that gap, point in case we are working to commission the new road in Lethem so that’s a big event that is coming up this weekend, we have built roads all over Guyana, those in remote communities, for example people can now drive from Mahdia to Bartica, that [project] had been stopped for a long, long time, but now the road has been made that accessible, people can come to Mahdia or to Georgetown to purchase their goods and they don’t have to take them to Parika or anything. They can now drive through the road,” Hastings Williams said.

She further explained that these changes are going to benefit the citizens not just allowing them to be able to explore the country but that it will function to benefit the business community, persons would be able to have easier access for transport of their goods, therefore making trading their products somewhat more lucrative. In addition, she related that this would benefit the country as it pushes tourism, this ease of access she said would allow many other persons the chance to be able to travel to many other parts of the country that they may not have had access to, like Annai, Lethem, and Moruca.

Education & Empowerment
Further Hastings-Williams highlighted the strides the government has made in ensuring that education is brought to the hinterland regions, stating, “…recently, we’ve heard about the programmes that the First Lady herself embarked on. Resulting from one of the programmes, was a recently held graduation in Kamarang where we had a lot of men and women who were taught computer skills, literacy, mathematics they even did a little bit of robotics and these things help individuals to develop themselves, into citizens that can contribute meaningfully to their community.

“Some years ago I would have never dreamt that coming out from a hinterland community [they]could be building a robot. But that is happening, it is real, and this is the progress that is brought through the APNU+AFC government,” the Minister of State pointed out.
She related that the government is moving rapidly to ensure that the citizens in this part of the country are able to develop themselves and have every opportunity to do so through the use of education, and training along with so many new systems being implemented to cater to this.

“Our young people are now being involved in what they have never dreamt of. And so development is rapidly taking place in our hinterland,” she stated.