…says Lethem youth leader

By Gabriella Chapman
THE APNU+AFC closing rally for the campaign season at D’Urban park attracted a mammoth crowd, causing it to be dubbed ‘the mega rally’.
With the thousands of people who packed the stands and tarmac, they painted the entire facility green and yellow. To welcome the patrons, Minister of Health, Volda Lawrence, entertained the crowd with jokes about the opposition and its leaders.

She reminded them briefly of the development and progress made in Guyana during the APNU+AFC leadership. Listing improved roads, water, lights, schools, health centres, and magistrates’ courts, as some of these developments. She noted that the government is focused on growth in every sector in the country. Following shortly after Minister Lawrence’s welcome remarks, a young Lethem (Region Nine) candidate, Michelle Joseph, reminded those gathered of the development taking place in the hinterland.

Joseph said that she has never seen so many country men and women showing up at a political rally, in her time, and credited this to the leadership of President David Granger. “This is only so because we are truly blessed to have the kind of leadership that brought back a sense of togetherness, a sense of pride in whom we are as Guyanese. And when you look across you can truly see that we are in the spirit of togetherness and we are so proud to be Guyanese. Most importantly, this kind of leadership brought back a sense of hope,” she said.

Sharing some of the developments that are happening in the hinterland region, Joseph said that her hometown Lethem, the Rupununi and all hinterland communities have seen significant transformation. “If you visited Lethem before you would know it as the dusty little community. Today Lethem has gained its township status through His Excellency, David Arthur Granger. And this transformation happened in just four plus years. In the township of Lethem, we now have asphaltic roads; we no longer have to tread along the dusty red laterite. We have lights on every street and every corner,” she said, with much vigour.

The wider hinterland was not left behind, she added; “…There was the introduction of the SLED (Sustainable Livelihood and Entrepreneurial Development) programme. The programme has changed the lives of many young Indigenous men and women, and today many of those persons are proud to call themselves business owners, and are running successful businesses in their communities and that was only possible because of the implementation of SLED.”

Noting too that the hinterland people suffered immensely from the lack of information, Joseph said information is vital. “Information is vital and many of the hinterland people received filtered information. Information they wanted us to hear, information that they wanted us to know. And unfortunately, it was not the real deal. It was old information. Sometimes we have to wait days before we can get a newspaper to read. But today, with the establishment of Internet hubs across the villages, and radio stations in the main districts, we are now properly informed. We are knowledgeable of the things that are happening in and around our country. The Indigenous Peoples are not left behind,” Joseph said in her address to the hyped crowd of people.

“It is also because of the introduction of Wi-Fi in the various communities, the children at the Rupunini are now seeing better results. Just recently, we produced a student out of the St. Ignatius Secondary School who passed with 20+ subjects. Our education system is being enhanced, and with the introduction of the Five B’s, it’s moving. Our children’s lives are being transformed like never before,” she added. Sharing more on the developments, she explained that Region Nine is faced with two extreme weather conditions; the rainy season and the dry season. The dry season, she said, tends to affect the community the most because when the wells are dried up and the creeks are low, the animals suffer, and their livelihood is strained.

“And this government saw that this needed to change and wells are drilled in villages and communities across the Rupununi, and this government is the government that cares not just for the people on the coast, but for the hinterland people,” Joseph said.

In view of the foregoing, the youth leader encouraged the people to make a sound decision, and allow progress to continue throughout the length and breadth of Guyana.
Adding a sprinkle of culture to the programme, the crowd was entertained intermittently with performances from the National School of Dance, Stephen Ramphal, Mark Ferdinand, Berbice Delight, and Cherilyn Maloney. There was also an after show with Farmer Nappy, Christopher Martin, and Guyanese artistes, Saiku, Mark Batson, Brandon Harding, Vanilla and Kwasi Ace.