IN a move to bridge the technological gap between indigenous communities and the rest of the world, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo committed 10 computers to the Santa Rosa Secondary School in Moruca during his recent visit to the Region One (Barima Waini) community.

During an open discussion between the hundreds of attendees at the outreach, one resident related to Dr. Jagdeo that the computer programmes within the Hub needed to be updated, so that the people could better serve the people of the village.

The resident explained that the hub as well as the school computer laboratory are “very important” to them since it is the only facility where the villagers and the school children can have access to the computer systems so that they can do their research and get their information from them.

Upon listening to the resident’s plea, the Vice President immediately reassured her and the rest of the crowd that the Secondary School would be given 10 more additional computers, understanding that they would take the precautions to care for them.

According to Dr. Jagdeo, “the children can use it during the day, and in the afternoons, the people from the community can use it as well. We have to make it accessible; we do not want to over-invest because we have a lot of other things that need to be done as well. I will get you a few more computers, but please work out an arrangement to utilise the hub as well as these computers.”

While the villagers are in charge of the hub, Dr. Jagdeo also emphasised that the children of the community have adequate access to it as well.

Additionally, the Vice President also added that he will ensure the technical team visits the community, diagnoses, and updates the systems so that everyone can benefit and experience better services.

As part of the government’s ongoing efforts to improve the lives and livelihoods of persons living across Guyana, Vice President Jagdeo accompanied by the Minister of Housing, Collin Croal; Minister within the Ministry of Local Government, Anand Persaud, and the Regional Chairman of Region One, Brentnol Ashley visited and delivered 400 part-time jobs, and 250 business grants to the people of Moruca on Wednesday.

In his address to the gathering, the VP said, “We are hoping that these initiatives will assist many people in their villages to improve their lives, and also that 250 people will receive a business grant each. Hopefully, with whatever they are doing, they can use the money to improve their lives.” Vice-President Jagdeo also said that due to the failed leadership of the former APNU+AFC administration and the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a decrease in employment.

“We started with a job deficit of about 80,000 people who were eligible for work but didn’t have a job… and that is why we promised to generate more jobs. In Region Four, we have labour shortages; if you need a carpenter, a plumber, or an electrician, we cannot find that skill because everyone is building, so we are training people rapidly right now.”