— says Prime Minister Phillips

PRIME Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips, has assured residents of Karisparu, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), that they will have access to electricity and internet in 2022.

The Prime Minister, who travelled to the community on Wednesday to distribute toys and hampers, told residents that his government will continue to push ahead with its agenda of bridging the gap between the hinterland and the coastland.

He said that, through a loan agreement with India, the government had already purchased 30,000 solar panels, which are scheduled to arrive in Guyana early next year.

The panels will be distributed to households in the hinterland communities, including those in Karisparu.
The community was also on the list of 200 villages to benefit from a US$17.1 million ICT access and E-services for hinterland, poor and remote communities project.

“We need to have hinterland communities connected and integrated, especially during this time of COVID. If we have ICT connectivity, it means that we could have more content in terms of educational materials. Electricity also is important, and, in this case, we want to encourage renewable energy,” Prime Minister Phillips said.

FUNDS DISTRIBUTIONS
Farmers and residents from 93 households also received the government’s flood-relief cash grant, while Community Service Officers (CSOs) received $60,000 each as their stipends for a two-month period.

The Prime Minister said that as the country continues to grapple with the socio-economic effects of COVID-19, it was his hope that the hampers and grants bring much-needed relief to the residents, and the toys bring smiles and joy to the faces of the children in time for Christmas.

“With your farms destroyed and the fact that you hardly have shops where you can purchase groceries, we understand your issue of food security, and we hope that these forms of relief that you have received will assist you. We also want to ensure that the children of the village have a Merry Christmas,” he related.

The Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai, who also travelled to the community, said that the visit was the first by a Prime Minister and was indicative of the ruling administration’s people-centred approach to governance.