–with critical gov’t investments, President Ali says
–and more opportunities for persons, as authorities mull construction of new eco-friendly park at Batavia

A SPACE where both residents and tourists can enjoy the serene flora and fauna of Guyana will be developed at Batavia, Region Seven, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali has announced.
Joining the Cuyuni-Mazaruni community for their Amerindian Heritage Month celebrations on Sunday, the President vowed to support the residents with several projects, including the construction of an eco-friendly park.

“With the help of the Men on Mission (MOM), we can work on creating the first what we will term an eco-friendly tourism park with the community,” President Ali said.
Additionally, the government, through the relevant tourism agencies, will partner with residents to promote the locally-made infrastructure from hinterland communities like Batavia.
“We have to make better use of the infrastructure that we build at events like these, for example, the beautiful benabs that you would have built here; we should see how we could move this around, maybe to Georgetown,” Dr. Ali said.

The Head of State added that the government will continue to invest in indigenous youths.
“Today, our Amerindian children and communities have access to so many more facilities that you can dream the biggest dream in your own villages, and know that you have a government that is willing to support you, whether you want to become a doctor, lawyer,” President Ali said.

He reminded the residents of the government’s initiative to offer support to young people who have the qualifications to become nurses and teachers.
To further complement this initiative, the President said that the government is continuously investing in the necessary infrastructure to provide optimum services to the people.
“We are now investing in the infrastructure to ensure that you not only have Wi-Fi services, but Wi-Fi services that are capable of giving you that platform for E-learning, distance learning. We are expanding the GOAL scholarship programme, and building this infrastructure to ensure you get the support,” Dr. Ali said.

Earlier this month, the President announced that billions of dollars will be allocated to indigenous communities in the 2024 and 2025 budget cycles.
The Head of State made this revelation at the closing of the National Toshaos Conference, where he also disclosed that for the first time, the Chairman of the National Toshaos Council (NTC) Derrick John will meet with the Minister of Finance during the budget consultation process.

He said that there are several issues that the government will work to address swiftly before taking requests from communities.
According to Dr. Ali, these issues include the delivery of 30,000 household solar units. This distribution is expected to begin shortly, and will see a government minister being assigned to specific communities to hand over the units, which are part of the first phase.

President Ali further revealed that an additional $16 billion will be invested this year to upgrade infrastructure in hinterland communities. Out of that sum, $6 billion will be spent on community roads.
Aside from infrastructure, the government will also embark on an aggressive programme to improve the delivery of education in hinterland communities. This programme will see improvements in teachers’ living quarters and hostels and the construction of new schools.

Over the next three years, the government will also make massive investments to improve healthcare in the hinterland regions, building new hospitals and new health centres, and expanding services such as telemedicine.
In addition to the aforementioned, President Ali assured the indigenous community that investments will also be made in human resources.
Investments will also be made in agriculture and tourism. Training in these areas will be done to ensure that Indigenous youths can benefit from the ongoing developments such as the establishment of several new hotels across the country.