Constituency 9 residents assured of continued development
─ as govt’s steady progress highlighted
─ more opportunity for youth involvement and employment among concerns raised
DPI, Guyana, Thursday, March 21, 2019
Residents living along Princes, Norton and D’Urban Streets, Lodge were given the opportunity to share with government ministers, their concerns regarding what else is needed in their communities for continued development.
On March 20, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman and Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence conducted a walkabout through Constituency 9.
Most residents acknowledged that there have been improvements while the councillor for the area, Shonnel Smith-Daniels advocated at the municipal level for more work to be done in this area. After the walkabout, a meeting was held with government supporters and other residents of the constituency.
Minister Trotman noted that while going through Lodge, he heard of the residents’ support for government’s push to have a sanitised list of eligible voters before going to the polls. The minister said this is evidence that residents believe there will be a free and fair election after a sanitised list is prepared and as such citizens are ready to go to the polls and exercise their democratic right.
The minister added that there may be naysayers who are attempting to force an early election.
“Why do you think suddenly Jagdeo is trying to pull this. It is because we announced that we will have oil flowing from this year-end. It will be the fastest turnaround of oil from discovery to production in the world. We made that possible so they don’t want that oil and the money to start flowing because they know that the good life and the foundation, we have put in place will continue.”
Minister Lawrence made it known to residents that the APNU+AFC Government has been and continues to work for the people of Guyana.
She took the opportunity to update the residents of the transformation within the health sector, such as the narrowing of the gap for the delivery of health care especially for persons in the hinterland and riverine areas.
Specifically, she spoke of river ambulances and pointed out that modernised river ambulances have been provided to Orealla and Bartica with emphasis that this has never been done in the. She added that Region 1 will also commission one such ambulance – again the government making history.
“They don’t have roads, they have to travel on water to get to health facilities but today they have river ambulances. Never heard of in the 23 years… We didn’t only do it for them in Region Six, we remembered those persons at Bartica too. Those miners coming out with injuries who need to Georgetown, so we have a river ambulance there and they are servicing all the areas in Region 10 on the river there and Region Two.” Lawrence explained
The Health Minister also spoke of steady progress in modernising the sector with improved services and state of the art technologies being utilised at the Georgetown Public Hospital and other regional hospitals across the country. This, she considers to be life-saving interventions.
“We want to save the lives of those persons in Guyana because we want them to live and see the good life we continue to deliver.”
Both ministers agreed that the outreach throughout the constituency was a humbling experience since residents were given a fair opportunity to raise honest concerns. Some were related to opportunities for youth in the areas of sports and employment.
Even as the ministers highlighted the progress of the government residents bemoaned the fact that most of the successes were not known. Therefore, they called on the government that even as they do more for Guyanese, the information must be filtered to the man on the street so that everyone can be aware.
Delicia Haynes.
Images: Aubrey Odle and Ameer Sattaur.