–President Ali says politics won’t hinder people’s welfare
–‘investment zone’ to be identified in the region, ‘agri’ master plan in the making

BENEFITS will be distributed equitably to every Guyanese, irrespective of their political preference or affiliation, as the welfare of the people is the focus of the Government, President Dr. Irfaan Ali has said, as he announced a plethora of plans, including the construction of 1,000 houses, for Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
The delivery of this and other commitments were made when the President and his Cabinet visited the region on Thursday.
President Ali, as part of his forward approach towards engagement and development, told residents of Region 10 on Thursday that he intends to tap into the skills of residents, as well as to source the building materials from the community for the construction of those houses.

“We will be engaging the young people and women in the construction of the homes,” he said, adding: “We need the materials for the construction of these houses to come from this region; the lumber, the sawmill, block makers and carpenters will all be engaged. If you don’t have the skills, we will bring in people to train you, so that employment is created for the residents here.”
Access to adequate housing is viewed as a basic human right, and is considered to be an integral factor for the enjoyment of other economic, social and cultural rights. And, with Guyana’s economy poised to quadruple in the coming years, the government will be moving to ensure that its people, especially from the low and middle-income brackets, have access to adequate housing.

Housing units will eventually be constructed across all ten administrative regions, and authorities are already working to identify and acquire lands for this purpose.
But, specific to Region 10, in addition to the construction of 1,000 houses, the President said 50 houses will be constructed in Amelia’s Ward for young professionals by the end of October 2021.
“Here is what we are going to do: We are going to bring the bank in, and we’re going to develop 50 Young Professionals Homes. We have the designs, just like we did for Eccles; so you’ll be living in an environment that you’d be proud of. So, we will set aside 50 house lots; we will build the homes,” the Head of State assured Lindeners.
President Ali said officials of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) will return to the region on Monday with representatives from the banking institutions to expedite the prequalification process.

“We will pre-qualify you, so you will get your loan, your house lot, and your house on the same day,” the President affirmed.
Immediately following this announcement, one of the beneficiaries, Dr Aliana Anderson, expressed her gratitude to President Ali for his swift intervention.
“I feel very pleased, because we go there and say that we are young professionals, and right away he knew exactly what could have been our issue,” Dr. Anderson said, adding: “I was just thinking about a whole long speech I had to say, and he just went right to it. I feel very happy; I feel like he is the person for young people; like he wants to see us develop and be better. I am really happy.”

Support for young people, however, does not stop there, as President Ali pointed to several other areas of development, including improved access to educational materials for children, access to healthcare, and the provision of opportunities for residents to offer services to support the mining sector.
The President announced specific plans to develop an Online portal to allow young people who have specific training needs in all areas, including the hospitality sector, to register their interests. He said this will allow young people to benefit from the opportunities which will arise in all sectors.
“I will ask Ministers Charles Ramson and Joe Hamilton to launch an Online portal, where young people can register themselves and their interests in training. So if we know we have 50 or 100 or 200 youths from Linden who want to be trained in the hospitality sector, then we will be able to say, Okay, and provide a special arrangement to have you trained at the hospitality institute,”

President Ali said. This portal will allow residents to register for not only existing initiatives, but also potential ones like the National Tourism and Hospitality Institute, and the National Oil and Gas Institute. The President assured residents that the Government will place emphasis on strengthening the human resource capacity across the country, including in communities in Region 10. He encouraged young people to start this process by forming consortiums, and working together. He noted that the Government is ready to work with those groups to prepare them to take advantage of all of the opportunities that are in the pipeline.

INVESTMENT ZONE

One of the potential conduits of opportunities and development is an investment zone in the region, which will soon be identified and developed jointly by the region’s private sector body and the Government.
This, the President believes, will bolster economic growth, and increase opportunities in the region, and ensure private sector involvement in the process.
“What we need to do is sit with you, look at the potential area that investors and business people think is an ideal area, and create an investment zone there and then to make those lands available in a way that it can be prioritised. That is something that we should look at,” President Ali said.
He added that when this area is identified, it can be developed with the necessary infrastructure, which will benefit all stakeholders.
“We are going to put investment in; we are going to put opportunities here for wealth creation, job creation, and we are going to involve all of you in the private sector here,” President Ali affirmed.

The Head of State reiterated that his Government remains committed to ensuring that all of Guyana, including Region 10, benefits from the development plans which are underway.
“My government has made it very clear that our only intention is to serve the people of this country, and serve all the people of this country. You not only have our commitment, but the people of Region 10 can rest assured that you have a President and a Cabinet, and a Government who are ready to fulfill their mandate and commitment to uplifting your lives and making your lives better.
“I assure you that this Government is ready to work with every single Guyanese. I do not concern myself with the politics of any community; I concern myself with the welfare of the people of the communities,” President Ali said.
Members of the Cabinet present at the outreach included the Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh; Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill; Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat; Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal; Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy; Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond; Minister of Local Government, Nigel Dharamlall; Minister within the Ministry of Local Government, Anand Persaud; Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jnr; and Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud.
The President said communication among the various agencies is vital, along with a strengthened link to the Central Government. This, he said, will result in the development of the communities.

FIXING A SYSTEM
“We are fixing a system that was broken; to fix that system requires all of us to work together. The Regional Democratic Council identifying where the broken bones are, working with the Central Government, and the Central Government will work with the RDC; that is what will lead to development.
“The first thing that is essential is communication; that is why we are here today, to communicate directly to the stakeholders, to listen directly to the stakeholders, and to formulate a plan and a programme that all of us will be proud to be associated with,” the Head of State reasoned.
President Ali acknowledged the needs of the community, particularly as it relates to access to housing. On this note, he said that over the years, there has been a sloth in the development of the sector, as the investment was not there to satisfy the demand in the region.
“I want to assure you that we are going to put back resources to put back the energy, the vibrancy into housing, and to create the opportunities that housing once created in the region,” the Head of State said. He said, too, that the issue is not just access to land or access to agricultural land, but to work with the people of the community to transform the land to an asset. This, he believes, will bring economic wealth to the communities.

MASTER PLAN
The Government plans on working with farmers to develop a master plan which would guide development and stimulate an increase in the productivity of this region. This master plan will also encompass other sectors of the economy, President Ali said.
Another “master plan” of sorts includes the creation of employment within the communities through investments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
“We now have to get the telecommunications sector to up the bandwidth to make an investment here, so that we can redirect traffic here to establish call centres, create jobs, increase the disposable incomes of families, giving them greater ability and capacity to participate in the economy; those are the types of things we are targeting,” President Ali said.
Regional Chairman of Region 10, Deron Adams, said that the regional administration will work “hand-in-glove” with the Government to realise the development aspirations of the communities.
He also pointed to several immediate needs, including access to housing, financing for small businesses, improved access to primary healthcare, and the formulation of an economic implementation plan among others.