– vow to give coalition second term

THEIR well maintained access road, erosion correction project, street lighting, issuance of land titles, the Five ‘Bs’ programme and rehabilitation of the nursery and primary schools were just some of the developments highlighted by residents of Coomacka, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice), during a well-attended and upbeat community meeting on Saturday.

The meeting, organised by the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), saw scores of residents decked out in yellow and green –- the colours of the coalition — as they heard from regional and government officials on the developments that have taken place since APNU+AFC took office in 2015.

In his address, former Regional Councillor Douglas Gittens, told the residents that their main access road, rehabilitation for which they had clamoured prior to 2015, and is now in very good condition, should be reason enough to have them re-elect the coalition government.

“We use to take half hour to get here and we are now taking less than 15 minutes. Ladies and gentlemen, that road alone should have you vote APNU+AFC. We will continue, we have identified several more roads that we will fix, just give us time, we need more time,” he urged to a loud round of applause.

He pointed out that it was only last week that the Regional Chairman Renis Morian, ensured that residents of Coomacka employed at the Chinese logging company in the community were reinstated. Morian, Gittens reported, also lobbied for better working conditions for the residents.

Erosion, an issue that once plagued the community, resulting in widespread flooding and the blockage of the Demerara River with bauxite sediment, causing it to be virtually impassable, is now a thing of the past, with the construction of a dam and the dredging of the river by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA).
“If this has happened in four and a half years, what do you think will happen in the next 10?” Gittens asked the residents.

He then turned his attention to regional projects, which will also benefit the residents, such as the construction of a new Wismar-Mackenzie bridge, the rehabilitation of the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, the construction of a synthetic track and the establishment of ICT hubs across the region, among others.

The former councillor urged the residents to question members of the opposition – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) – on projects they had undertaken in the community and the region at large, during their 23 years in government.
Former Member of Parliament, Audwin Rutherford, made a similar argument while stressing that those projects were only completed because the coalition was decent and honest in its endeavours.

The future is bright for Guyana, he said, under the leadership of President David Granger. In Guyana, there is no room for one-party politics, Rutherford said, as he iterated a sentiment oftentimes expressed by President Granger.

In highlighting some of the strides made by the APNU+AFC government in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice), Rutherford alluded to the return of local government elections and the establishment of a Regional Agriculture Department in 2019.
“We caused development to happen countrywide. We are not playing hopscotch with development …and you have a responsibility now to take this word to others, the converts are here, each and every one of you here would be voting APNU-AFC,” Rutherford told the residents, as he urged them to vote early, and to ensure that their friends and families vote as well.

Vertical economic take off
His colleague, former MP Mervyn Williams said that in 2020 Guyana is set for a vertical economic take off. As such, he urged the residents to play their part in ensuring the coalition returns to office.

Williams assured the residents that under the leadership of the APNU+AFC government they will continue to enjoy the good life. According to him, the government is people-centred and is led by a President who understands the recipe for development.

“Your government is people-centred, your government engages the citizens of this country and inquires [sic] what it is that is crucial to your well-being, to your happiness to your prosperity, to your security, and your government responds in an affirmative way to ensure that your wishes are realized; this is the concept of a good life for all Guyanese,” he said.
He further told the residents that the APNU+AFC coalition is best suited to manage not only the country’s petroleum resources, but all other resources.

Asking them to be patient, Williams promised the residents that greater developments are ahead.
The APNU+AFC coalition, he said, is the only true political movement that will turn Guyana around, and with loud applause, the residents affirmed that they will be supporting the coalition come March 2, 2020. The football team of the community was also gifted with footballs and volleyball nets.