His Excellency Dr Irfaan Ali today assured residents of Region 10 that his Government remains committed to ensuring that all of Guyana, including their region, benefit from development plans underway.
The Head of State was at the time addressing the gathering at the opening of the Regional outreach at the Watooka House in Linden where he engaged with members of the public and representatives of various groups including the Women’s Group, Farmers Group and Forestry Group.
“My government has made it very clear that our only intention is to serve the people of this country and serve all the people of this country. You not only have our commitment, but the people of Region 10 can rest assured that you have a President and a Cabinet and a Government who are ready to fulfill its mandate and commitment to uplifting your lives and making your lives better. I assure you that this government is ready to work with every single Guyanese … I do not concern myself with the politics of any community, I concern myself with the welfare of the people of the communities.”
Members of the Cabinet present at today’s outreach include the Hon Ashni Singh – Minister of Finance, Hon Juan Edghill – Minister of Public Works, Hon Vickram Bharrat – Minister of Natural Resources, Hon Collin Croal – Minister of Housing and Water, Hon Kwame McCoy – Minister within the Office of the Prime Ministry, Hon Oneidge Waldrond – Ministry of Tourism, Hon Nigel Dharamlall – Minister of Local Government, Hon Anand Persaud – Minister within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Hon Charles Ramson Jnr – Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport and Hon Dr Vindhya Persaud—Minister of Human Services and Social Security.
The President said communication among the various agencies is vital along with a strengthened link to central government. This he said will result in the development of the communities.
“We are fixing a system that was broken; to fix that system requires all of us to work together. The Regional Democratic Council identifying where the broken bones are, working with the central government and the central government will work with the RDC…that is what will lead to development. The first thing that is essential is communication. That is why we are here today to communicate directly to the stakeholders, to listen directly to the stakeholders and to formulate a plan and a programme that all of us will be proud to be associated with.”
President Ali acknowledged the needs of the community, particularly as it relates to access to housing. On this note he said over the years there has been a sloth in the development of the sector as the investment was not there to satisfy the demand in the region.
“I want to assure you that we are going to put back resources to put back the energy, the vibrancy into housing and to create the opportunities that housing once created in the region.
He said that the issue is not just access to land or access to agricultural land, but to work with the people of the community to transform the land to asset.
This the President said, will bring economic wealth to the communities.
President Ali also announced Government’s intention to work with farmers to develop a master plan through which they can increase their productive capacity in agriculture. This master plan will also touch on the other sectors of the economy.
The President also assured the residents that the creation of employment within the communities is high on his Government’s agenda and will be supported by developments in ICT, particularly with the establishment of a call Centre in the region.
“We now have to get the telecommunications sector to up the bandwidth to make investment here so that we can redirect traffic here to establish call centres, create jobs, increase the disposable incomes of families, giving them greater ability and capacity to participate in the economy; those are the types of things we are targeting.”
President Ali then pointed to the importance of the presence of the Ministers of Government in formulating a collective response to the needs of the communities.
He also pointed to the important role the Private Sector will play in the overall development of the Region. On this note, the President stressed on the importance of collaboration to the success of any policy and programme.
The Regional Chairman, Deron Adams in welcoming the President and the delegation assured that the Region will work ‘ hand and glove” with the Government to realise the development aspirations of the communities. He also pointed to several immediate needs including access to housing, financing for small businesses, improved access to primary healthcare, and the formulation of an Economic Implementation Plan among others.
Mr Adams also assured the gathering of the region’s support in the safeguarding of Guyana’s territorial integrity.
