Demerara River residents urged to return to the days of community spirit

The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development embarked on another leg of its outreaches in the Demerara River where five teams of Ministers and Regional Officials visited and interacted with residents on both sides of the river. Based on the village’s location it can either be a part of Region 3 or 4.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Colin Croal engaged with the residents of Low Wood and Princess Carolina, both of which are predominantly farming communities.

Residents of Low Wood, Demerara River gathered at their primary school for a community meeting

While at Low Wood, PS Croal recalled that the community was visited last November and a request was made for a solar panel for the village’s primary school. That request has since been fulfilled.

The PS emphasized that during his last visit to the community it was observed that construction was being carried out on the teachers’ quarters and the health post. He pointed out that thus far, phase one of the projects is complete but the fittings and plumbing works are yet to be installed. Additional staff for both institutions will also be finalized shortly.

Croal emphasized that those projects are investments being made by the government in communities regardless of their location and the challenges being faced. He highlighted that in the Region’s work programme upgrades will be done on the Low Wood Primary school, and it is anticipated that by the end of July work will start.

While the much needed infrastructure is being put in place attention also has to be paid on the environment. This, he, indicated is the partnership that is required between the government and the community, that is to keep the environment clean and to ensure that parents send their children to school regularly and the health facility is utilized adequately. Both of these provisions are intended to make the lives of the people better. In this regard, PS Croal urged the residents to return to the days of community spirit.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Colin Croal engaging with residents of Princess Carolina, Demerara River during a Ministerial Outreach

Meanwhile at Princess Carolina, PS Croal noted that the Ministry of Local Government through the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) is responsible for the entire country so anything that takes place in the communities is the business of the Ministry.

He indicated that while all the requests and concerns cannot be sorted out immediately there are some that require long-term planning, budget allocations while others can be dealt with by the residents themselves.

In 2013, the village’s primary school will be benefiting from repairs.  PS Croal urged the Headteacher to collect a copy of the unpriced bill of quantities so as to eliminate the blame game, mis-information and the community would be fully aware of the project. He emphasized that even though the school’s population is low, government is still investing in the school so as to ensure that every child has access to education and this is in tandem with the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) that targets education. Most of the school children in the community attend the school at Timehri.

With regards to the applications for firearm licence, the PS explained that it is a rigorous process that is controlled by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Guyana Police Force, and the ideal thing is for one or two responsible people in community to make the application.

In relation to Agriculture, each of the visiting teams had an agriculture extension officer to answer to the concerns raised in that field and based on the feedback, the Ministry of Agriculture will schedule an engagement with the residents.

The residents were also given the opportunity to raise their concerns with the Permanent Secretary; these were based on education, agriculture, infrastructural projects (contracts/bill of quantities), securing a firearm licence and sports.

During the interactions, PS Croal told residents that the Regions are at a stage where they are commencing their respective 2013 work programmes and projects are set to be completed shortly, since bids have been advertised and awards handed out. It is hoped that by November the projects will be completed even though the budget cycle started late.

In this regard, PS Croal emphasized that the Ministry is concerned with ensuring people get value for money. He also stressed that his Ministry is concerned that projects are being implemented in riverain communities and people are not aware of them. He acknowledged that while there are monitoring mechanisms there is a need for the villagers to monitor the projects as well.

The PS explained the importance of the community having a copy of the bill of quantities. He highlighted that it is the policy of the Government, the Ministry of Local Government and the Regional Administration that a copy of the bill of quantities be provided at the work site. Further, some Regions are conducting the signing of the awards in the communities where projects are being done.

“As a government we spend a lot of money in the social sectors because we see a minimum criterion that we need to provide the basic social services so that you can benefit and as a country we grow as a people,” he said.

In light of the developmental projects being executed, the PS took the opportunity to inform the people of the present situation at the level of the Parliament and the Budget cuts to several life-changing projects, including the Low Carbon Development strategy (LCDS), Amaila Falls, Cheddi Jagan Airport Expansion and the Marriot Hotel.

“It is narrow-minded and very short foresight when you look at investments only to say that you are looking at roads, buildings or those facility investments that you could see directly within,” he said.

PS Croal emphasised that Guyana would not have been able to experience growth within the last decade if the government did not do what it had been doing. He added that the international agencies have foreseen that this year Guyana is expected to achieve 5.2 percent growth.