–President Ali commits to residents during visit to community

PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali on Thursday committed to upgrading roads and drainage systems in the community of Annandale, East Coast Demerara, after engaging residents on their immediate concerns.

The Head of State, along with a team of government officials which included Attorney-General Anil Nandlall, S.C.; Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal, and Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar, ventured into the community to continue his engagements with citizens.

As the President and team made their way through the community, residents greeted them with open arms, and did not hesitate to share their commendations and concerns with them. On site were a number of officials from the various ministries dealing with those critical issues, one of which was the immediate need for upgrades to community streets.

Speaking to members of the media at one point during the visit, President Ali affirmed that the visit is part of the government’s commitment to continuously engage with communities, and to listen, first-hand, to the concerns of citizens.

He noted that ministers Croal and Indar have been working on fast-tracking a lot of solutions to issues facing communities. Among those issues is the completion of the land titling process, as there are just about 50 households along the railway embankment in the area that are required to be titled.

To remedy this, President Ali said that the Attorney-General and Minister Croal will return to the community on the last Friday of the month to conduct an exercise to finalise the distribution of titles.

As it relates to the drainage issues in the area, the Head of State indicated that the relevant authorities, within the next week, will work on a drainage plan for the community.

He also mentioned that they have to also work on connecting the road in the community to the railway embankment so that residents could have direct access to this critical carriageway, which is also set for an upgrade.

Dr. Ali said that one of the major projects that the government is embarking on is the upgrading of the railway embankment to a four-lane highway from Sheriff Street to Unity, Mahaica.

For this project, all encumbrances now have to be cleared, and preparations made for proper drainage.

“In addition to that, there are a number of cross streets that we’re looking to have local involvement in building concrete roads. So those are some of the things we have seen,” the Head of State said.

While the issue of a recreational facility was raised, the President affirmed that Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Charles Ramson Jr., will address that matter soon.

Minister Nandlall said that with the enhancement works set to be done in the community, the government is trying, as far as possible, to involve persons in the community and employ them to carry out the remedial and rehabilitative works.

Several residents of the community expressed their gratitude to the President and government for their hands-on approach to resolving issues within various villages.