–President Ali outlines opportunities available to residents of Region Two, recommits to building One Guyana

By Indrawattie Natram

PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali has reiterated the government’s commitment to listen to the concerns of Guyanese, and deliver on promises to improve the lives of persons across the country.
The President made this announcement at different meetings held at Dartmouth and Queenstown, in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

President Ali led a team to Region Two, which included Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar; Minister of Agriculture Zulifikar Mustapha; Chief Education Officer (CEO) of the Ministry of Education Shadam Hussian; and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NDIA, Lionel Wordsworth, along with regional officials.

During his interactions, he told the huge gathering that he wants to listen to their concerns individually.

“We know that we don’t have to go over the tremendous development that you have seen in this country and this region… I don’t have to repeat the taxes we reversed, the schoolchildren grant, the increase of pension, the support for women and young people… I don’t need to do that; I am here to listen to you,” President Ali said.

He said that in the agriculture sector in Region Two, over $5 billion was invested in improving the livelihood of farmers, and that over $8 billion was invested in improving roads and sea defences, while billions of dollars have also been spent on education and housing.

“In this region alone, what we spent in terms of capital expenditure, some whole countries in the region are not spending it… And we are spending it in one region, and that is because we believe that development must be balanced, and it must come to every single region,” President Ali said.

He emphasised that development must be balanced across communities, and it is the trademark of his government to ensure that every community in the country benefits from the services being offered.

“We will build One Guyana through an innovative approach, in which the overall infrastructure of the country will transform the institutions… We will provide top services right here… the Ministry of Tourism is working on packages and we are working on the broadband so you can have call centres, which means more job,” President Ali said.

TRAINING
During the meetings, residents of Dartmouth and Queenstown requested that young people in the communities be provided with the training. Persons related that youths are involved in illicit activities and are unemployed.

President Ali responded by reminding them that there are tons of opportunities available to young people in all sectors, and currently, persons in the region are being trained as nursing assistants and pharmacy assistants.

He urged them to tap into those opportunities. For skill training, he also reminded people that the Ministry of Labour, through the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), is providing training.
Many people also wanted to get into the part-time job initiative, while some requested infrastructural improvements to bridges and roads.

One resident who returned to Guyana from Barbados commended the President for his efforts to provide holistic development and promote the One Guyana initiative. She said that she is a Spanish teacher, and would love to offer her services at the schools.

Other residents commended the President on his outreach, and said that they are pleased that he is reaching out to community members to solve critical issues.