–President Ali says; stresses importance of collective action in country’s advancements
–points to APNU+AFC’s dismantling of communities’ ‘philosophy of building’

PRESIDENT, Dr Irfaan Ali has underscored the important role that Guyanese play in building out the country and has urged citizens to work with the government to accelerate the standard of living of each person as his government continues to deliver a better Guyana at their doorstep.

The President made those remarks during an outreach in Canal Bank, Region One (Barima-Waini).
“Here in Region One, there is tremendous excitement among the people; about their future and about the development that is taking place,” the Head of State said.
He welcomed residents sharing ideas on how their villages can be further transformed.

“We want people to be engaged, we want people to be part of the decision-making and we want you to prioritise your future and work with us as we deliver for you what your priorities are and that is the philosophy that has guided us,” the President told the scores of Canal Bank residents.

As the President reminded residents of the chokehold that the Opposition placed on Guyana’s development, Dr Ali said that the implications of that were very noticeable.
“…They [APNU+AFC] went into government and what they did was to destroy the philosophy of building with communities and building for communities,” he reminded citizens.

Among some of the negative impacts that affected the indigenous communities, President Ali noted that under the previous A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) administration, 2,000 Community Services Officers (CSOs) were terminated.

The CSOs initiative was launched in 2014 under the Youth Entrepreneurship and Apprenticeship Programme (YEAP). It targeted some 2,000 youths between the ages of 16-40 in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine.
YEAP was part of the then People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s commitment to youth development, advancement and investment in the lives of the Indigenous People.

Dr Ali then shifted his focus to how some of the traditional sectors collapsed under the rule of the APNU+AFC government.
“I want us to understand that there are choices we make in life and those choices affect us all. In the mining sector, not only the 200 taxes that they [brought] as burden onto the people that we [had] to reverse, but when we came into office, 70 per cent of all the dredges were non-operational. The operations were closed down. The mining sector was in chaos.”

The Forestry Commission under the previous coalition government was in such a deplorable state that for three months it could not even pay its employees, according to the Head of State.
“That was the state they left our country in. But we didn’t complain, we understand what leadership is. Instead, we embraced the challenges and we have been able to deliver every single promise we made in the manifesto,” he said.

While speaking on the challenges the PPP/C faced when they assumed office in 2020 such as the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and even threats to the nation’s territorial sovereignty, the President said, “We have battled it all and we came out successful as a government and as a people and we came out ahead of the game.”

DEVELOPMENTS
Several communities in Region One will benefit from several interventions to boost economic development, advance food production and improve the delivery of health care, President Ali has said.
Following several community engagements in the region, the Head of State committed to clearing and empoldering several acres of land. At Hotoquai in the Matarkai sub-district, President Ali said the government will assist farmers in that community and other surrounding neighbourhoods to clear some 250 acres of land.

“We want to see among these communities present here today at least 50 acres of land in one central area dedicated to pineapples; we want to see 100 acres of land dedicated to plantain production,” he told residents.

The government, he noted, will provide farmers with some 4,000 pounds of ginger and 5,000 coconut plants to expand the production of those crops. This support, he noted further, will also be given to expand turmeric production. Simultaneously, a market will be established to ensure farmers can sell their produce to earn an income.

Further support will be given to farmers to start coconut production on a larger scale to meet market demands locally and regionally. In addition, President Ali informed residents of the government’s plans to establish processing facilities to add value to cassava.

Similar support will be given to residents in the communities of Canal Bank and Arakaka. After listening to the concerns of residents, several commitments were made by President Ali to improve the delivery of education, enhance the local infrastructure, and support other agricultural ventures in the various communities.

Meanwhile, to improve the delivery of health care in the hinterland communities, President Ali announced that a specialised team of health officials will visit the various communities, providing testing for cervical cancer, eye examinations and dental support.