Bumbury hears of upcoming development plans

—CSO, housing programme to boost village economy

Residents of Bumbury, a hamlet in the Mabaruma sub-district, will soon benefit from an enhanced quality of life as the projects planned for the area in 2021 will create jobs and stimulate the village’s economy.

Minister of Housing and Water, Hon. Collin Croal made this disclosure during a recent visit to the area.

He reminded villagers that the Government has reintroduced the Community Support Officers (CSO) Programme to ensure the youth are gainfully occupied.

“It is intended to have persons employed in different areas so they work right here in your village. They are paid right within [and] the money comes back into your village,” Minister Croal said.

The CSO was launched in 2014, under the Youth Entrepreneurship and Apprenticeship Programme (YEAP) by the PPP/C Administration. Plans are moving apace to have the programme up and running by the end of this year and by 2021, hinterland residents are expected to reap the full benefits.

Additionally, works are in motion to see the implementation of the Hinterland Housing Programme in the 2021 National Budget. This will significantly impact the community’s development and housing sector, while creating jobs for hundreds of residents in the settlement.

“That is the concept in which we talk about in the development of your village economies. Region number one will certainly take off like the rest of Guyana,” Minister Croal said.

He reminded them that a well is expected to be dug in 2021 for improved water service in the district. He also told residents that provisions in the 2020 budget to enhance their lives include the $25,000 per household COVID-19 relief cash grant, the removal of value-added tax and duties on machinery to boost the region’s mining sector and the measures in the education sector to enable learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.