–as President kicks off nationwide outreaches with engagement in Region Six
–reiterates the government’s commitment to being accessible to every Guyanese

PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali has reiterated the government’s commitment to directly engage Guyanese and work closely with them to resolve issues they may have and craft measures that would effectively enhance the lives of every citizen.

“We are not a government that is distant from the people,” President Ali declared on Thursday as he opened Day One of a two-day government outreach at State House in New Amsterdam, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

The outreach, which is the first of a countrywide effort that will touch every region across the country, is geared towards taking the services of the Office of the President and other government ministries and agencies directly to the people in their respective administrative regions.

“We are not a government that operates in a vacuum or a locked compartment; we operate with you. We take your concerns and realities into consideration,” the Head of State said.
He added: “The full Office of the President will operate out of every region in a different month. The entire office will be situated here; operating from here so we can be in touch with you, so you can feel the highest office at your disposal, and have easy access to the highest office.”

The President highlighted that this initiative is part of the government’s continued commitment to bring the services of the government to every single region.

“Since we assumed office, we’ve been working in every single community. We’ve been going to you; we’re not waiting for you to come. The ministers and the Cabinet has been out to every community,” the President said.

Other agencies participating in the outreach included the Ministries of Human Services and Social Security, Agriculture, Education, the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest), the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Guyana Power and Light (GPL), the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), the and Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC), as well as the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and other regional departments.

“This is the level of seriousness we are taking in dealing with your issues; it’s not about passing the buck, but bringing the agency heads here, so they can work with you,” President Ali said adding:
“When you have various initiatives, sometimes you have teething problems at the local level and regional level as relates to these services. So, we are going to be taking your concerns and issues, and putting you onto the various agencies to have those concerns and issues sorted out.” Direct contact with the various agencies will allow citizens to have their issues resolved expeditiously, with many of the heads of most of them being present at the outreach.

SOLVED IN MINUTES
In the case of 73-year-old Agatha Ramjohn, she was able to see the resolution of her eight-year-old fight to obtain the transport for a parcel of land she owns, and what took her years was resolved in a matter of minutes, and she walked away from the outreach with her transport in her hands.

Ramjohn expressed her gratitude to the President, noting: “The President is doing an excellent job. He’s a man of action; he gets it done. He told me [the transport would be here] before 12 o’clock and look it’s here before 12 o’clock.”

She related that she had purchased a piece of land in Tain since 2014, and despite her every effort to obtain the transport, she was not making any headway.

“It’s always one thing or another. This month, they want this piece of paper; that piece of paper… It’s been going on like that. In 2017, I spoke to the Chairman and he said bring all the documents; then he said go back to [the Ministry of] Housing, they will take care of you. Subsequently, from 2017 to now, I’ve been calling and no results,” Ramjohn said.

Given the long wait she has had, Ramjohn could not stop smiling to see her issue finally resolved.

Praising the initiative as a fantastic one, Ramjohn said: “I appreciate this outreach so much; I appreciate the President’s intervention. This is like a blessing and a miracle; I have to thank him so much.”

Several other persons were able to get their issues dealt with on site, while many others were told of follow-up steps that will be taken to ensure their issues get finally resolved.

Noting that sometimes it is the issues that are not money-related that sometimes make the biggest difference, President Ali said that what the government is doing is part of a wider initiative to transform lives.

Apart from the outreach, the President hinted that there are number of big announcements for the region in the coming days, and work will soon commence.

“This region will be transformed; we have some big announcements coming. You will see actual work commencing on some major initiatives in this region,” President Ali said.

The Office of the President’s outreach comes as the government has unveiled Budget 2023, which contains a number of measures for the economic, infrastructural and social development of the country over the next few months.