ENCOURAGED by the development that has taken place in Region One (Barima-Waini) over the past four years under the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Government, and excited by the prospect of further development, residents of the area have said to have thrown their support behind the Coalition as it seeks a second term in office.

This is according to Adviser to the Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs Mervyn Williams, and Special Assistant on Legal Matters, David James. Some of the residents, though previously engaged by the opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), have turned up at APNU+AFC meetings, pledging their support and vote to the Coalition in the upcoming elections.

The campaign team was led by Williams and James. Also on the team were several of the party’s candidates from the region, including Ina Baird, a candidate on the party’s National Top-Up List; and Ronald Cox, a candidate on the Geographical list.

“The candidates have been well received. Wherever they visited, they’re connected to those villages. They’re well received, and people are very happy with the Coalition’s choice of candidate for the Mabaruma sub-region, in particular, and Barima-Waini in general,” Williams told the Guyana Chronicle.

In some of the villages that were visited, equipment was distributed on behalf of the government, including an outboard motor and water storage black tanks.

Villages visited included Arukamai, Lower Kariabo, Hobodeia, Hotoquai, Aruka Mouth, Black Water, and Unity Square, and St Anselms. The party feels very encouraged by the reception. “We went mainly to riverine communities. And being a member of one of the riverine communities myself,” Cox said, “a majority of the people embraced me as a candidate, because I am one of them. And from the reception and feedback we are getting, I am confident that within the Mabaruma sub-region we are guaranteed majority vote at the next elections.”

After being a supporter of the party at the last elections in 2015, and seeing the developments that the APNU+AFC brought to the region while in government, Cox said he was encouraged to become a candidate for the party. Echoing Cox, Williams said the party is heartened by the response from the residents in the region.

WELL RECEIVED

“We’ve been well received. It is a wonderful experience, and we anticipate victory in Region One,” he said.
During its tour, the party’s team has been receiving support from all corners. “There’s a large team of very young energetic candidates that are supporting,” Williams said, adding: “The business community is supporting and participating in this process. So it’s a wonderful experience.”

Williams related that the residents of many of the villages were very receptive, and more encouraging than in years gone by. Noting that many residents were previously afraid of openly supporting the Coalition, for fear of being victimised by the PPP/C during its time in government, Williams said:
“There are villages that we would’ve visited which would have perhaps even rejected us in years gone by when campaign was on, by having regard to the sphere of the PPP/C, and the possible victimisation they could have faced then. However, people’s fears have been allayed; they’re relaxed, comfortable and excited about the developments that occurred over the past four and a half years.”

He said that more than anything, it is the vast development that has taken place in the region over the last four years that has encouraged the residents to show their support.
“They are convinced that more took place in the past four-and-a-half years than under the PPP’s 23 years. They’re wondering why the PPP has never brought that kind of development to them when in fact this administration using pretty much the same resources could have done it in much less time,” Williams explained.

On Saturday, the team did a walkabout across a number of villages, including Whitewater, Kamwatta and Tobago, where residents eagerly turned out in their numbers.
“The people gathered around there when they heard that we were coming, and they said, ‘Talk to us; we want to listen to you. We want to know, as a government, what you have in store for us as a future,’” Williams noted.

He added: “We walked about from house-to-house in Kamwatta Village yesterday, and paid a courtesy call on the Toshao in Whitewater, where we had an impromptu meeting. And then we visited the village of Tobago, where everyone came out to meet with us. It’s a small community, and everyone came out,”

TALKING DEVELOPMENT
During Saturday’s engagements, Williams said, the discussions were around the many developments in the communities.
“They were excited about the fact that the road has been improved; that they now have concrete bridges where wooden bridges once stood,” he said, adding: “We discussed, among other things, Whitewater’s new school, plus a new well that was also recently commissioned in Whitewater. We discussed pipelines that the GWI has sent in on the last steamer; they showed us areas that had already been excavated to accommodate those pipes that will take water to their front doors and they were excited about that.”
Of particular interest to them is the President’s commitment to education: The 5Bs Project; the hinterland scholarship programme for secondary students; the proposed establishment of an ‘A’ Grade secondary school in every region; and the provision of free tertiary education.

Williams explained that the team is expected to continue the campaign in the region, with hopes of visiting some corners not yet toured.
“The campaign is ongoing; the team is revisiting some areas [on Monday], and will fan out to some additional areas we didn’t get to go to as yet,” Williams related.