-President Ali announces

-committees formed to monitor projects, outline immediate needs

PRESIDENT, Dr. Irfaan Ali has committed to seeing the rehabilitation of several roads, bridges, and playgrounds in the communities of Victoria and Anns Grove along the East Coast corridor.

The Head of State on Wednesday afternoon led a team of representatives from several public agencies to the communities where concerns were heard.

At Anns Grove, farmers within the community highlighted the need for improved public and farming infrastructure.

One farmer said: “We need at least two farm to market roads…we farmers are punishing.”

“We need to get an excavator to help farmers go down at the [back-dams] to get to their lands,” the woman added.

Another resident lamented the deplorable conditions of the access roads to various schemes within the community.

The woman, who is a teacher and single parent, noted that she spends thousands of dollars on her vehicle due to damages caused by the roads.

“I’m an owner of a car and right now I am spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on that vehicle.”

Meanwhile, an engineer provided updates on several projects within the community.

He noted that designs have been curated for roads in the community and residents can expect to see works soon.

Aside from the need for community roads, residents noted that there is currently a need for massive drainage and irrigation maintenance works to be done.

In pursuit of this objective, an official from the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) revealed plans to complete over 6,000 rods of channels in the community, in addition to other necessary maintenance tasks.

Meanwhile, farmers in the community will have access to many programmes, which includes a training for bee culture and a livestock programme.

The President proposed the establishment of a committee comprised of residents. This committee would oversee community projects and identify individuals who are interested in participating in training programmes.

In the nearby community of Victoria, just a short distance from Anns Grove, residents emphasised the necessity of training programmes for young people.

“Skill is wealth, we know Guyana is on the move and we would like our youths to be inclined,” one resident said.

Farmers in that community also expressed the need for improved drainage and irrigation works to support food production.

In order to achieve this goal, the president emphasised the importance of undertaking empoldering works on drainage networks identified by residents. Furthermore, farmers will be granted livestock inputs.

In addition, farmers will receive agricultural equipment such as tillers and slashers.

Meanwhile, upgrades to the community centre ground, and a playfield located in the adjacent community—Belfield—are on the cards.

Residents in the community also highlighted the need for the rehabilitation of several roads and bridges within the community.

Officials who are currently overseeing works in other nearby communities asked residents to be patient.

“There are so many contracts going on in this country, it takes time to get these projects…things have started in Victoria…we have streets that have been done, we have the farm to market almost complete and there are other things that will done,” the official said.