VILLAGE leaders from several hinterland communities say government-funded development projects are creating employment opportunities, improving infrastructure and boosting economic activities, with many residents directly benefitting from work generated within their own villages.
Speaking during the recently concluded National Toshaos Conference, the leaders highlighted projects financed through the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) funds, Presidential Grants and other government programmes, describing them as catalysts for community transformation.
Toshao Kevin Seegolam of Wikk-Calcuni in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) said residents have been employed to construct roads, buildings and other infrastructures, ensuring that government investments remain within the community.
“There is a lot going on presently in the village,” Seegolam said, noting that new buildings, internal roads, concrete walkways and footpaths are under construction, while logging activities are also generating economic opportunities.
He said LCDS funds have enabled the village to purchase equipment, including a log loader and an excavator for the satellite district, strengthening the community’s forestry operations.
According to Seegolam, contracts funded through government programmes are intentionally distributed among village residents, instead of being awarded to outside contractors.
He said, “For instance, right now we are doing a village kitchen, two small wharfs, we are building a multi-purpose building. There is a lot going on.”
“All these are being done by the residents. We are not bringing people out of the community to do these jobs. We are hiring and giving people the opportunity from the communities.”
In Hotoquai, Region One (Barima-Waini), Toshao Carson Thomas said government funding has allowed the community to acquire essential equipment while expanding public facilities.
He explained that the village used its presidential grant to purchase a slasher, chainsaw, four-stroke outboard engine and cargo boat, while LCDS funding is supporting construction of a kitchen for the school’s feeding programme.
Meanwhile, Toshao Archer Moses of Katoka in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), said years of government investment have significantly improved education, agriculture and employment prospects in his village.
Among the projects completed or under construction are a new secondary school, teachers’ quarters, a sewing centre, a shed, a cassava-processing facility, a guest house and agro-processing facilities.
Moses said the agro-processing facilities are expected to create employment opportunities, particularly for young people, allowing them to earn incomes without leaving the community.
“Our life is better off than before – far, far better than before,” he said.
He added that the construction of a secondary school in Katoka has eased a major burden on parents whose children previously had to travel to Lethem to attend school.
According to Moses, many children struggled because of the distance, but they are now able to attend school within their own community, where many of the teachers are also village residents.
In Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Debra Levi, a councillor from Tassarene, said the community has recently completed a government-funded mechanic shop under the capital-projects programme and is now preparing to expand its economic activities.
She said the village plans to establish a bond, begin lumbering operations and launch a sawmill, with efforts already under way to acquire the equipment needed to outfit the new mechanic shop.
The village representatives said the projects are not only improving infrastructure, but are also generating jobs, strengthening local businesses and creating new opportunities for residents to earn a living within their own communities.
Senior Councillor Ronald Ignatius of Quiko, Region Nine, said his village’s development began before the introduction of carbon-credit funding, with presidential grants helping to expand cattle farming and other local projects.
He said that over the past three years, carbon-credit funds have enabled the community to diversify into a range of economic ventures, while placing residents at the centre of development.
“We have utilised the carbon-credit funds, venturing into different community projects and economic projects, where we would have sector youth organisations putting in economic projects for the youth, managing their own projects,” Ignatius said.
According to Ignatius, women are managing their own projects, enabling them to generate incomes while creating employment opportunities for other women.
He added that the village has also invested in savannah farming and established an annual rodeo, which has become a major attraction. “A lot of people from around the country and even neighbouring Brazil would have come to participate at our local rodeo,” he said.
According to Ignatius, carbon-credit funding has been transformative for Quiko.
“The carbon-credit funds are now the major source of funding that has transformed our community compared with 10 years ago,” he said.
This year, he added, the village is using part of the funding to support individual household projects, giving residents the opportunity to develop income-generating businesses for their families.
He added: “Giving the villagers an opportunity to come up with their own, and prioritise, their projects that they can manage by themselves and generate an income, at the end of the day, for their individual families.”