“Fan-out by govt ministers a significant grassroots exercise” – PM Nagamootoo

─ sharing news of continued development

─ “a new international airport at Lethem”

─ solar farm for affordable, reliable renewable energy

DPI, Sunday, February 17, 2019

“The government has taken to our Indigenous peoples and other residents of the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Region Nine good news of development,” Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo stated in his weekly “My Turn” Column published in the Guyana Chronicle.

Good news about a new international airport at Lethem, the region’s capital town; upgrade of the Linden-Lethem road, with paved highway initially from Linden to Mabura; asphalted roads in Lethem; possible resuscitation of the hydro-power plant at Moco-Moco, a solar farm for affordable, reliable renewable energy are some of the government’s initiatives being addressed in the Ministerial Rupununi Outreach that is being conducted, the Prime Minister pointed out.

Prime Minister, Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Hon. Moses Nagamootoo

He explained that upon being elected to office in 2015, the APNU+AFC Coalition Government embarked on a revolutionary course of taking the government to the people and bringing the people to government.

“To his credit, Minister of State Joseph Harmon organised “out-reaches” in Georgetown, Linden, Corriverton, New Amsterdam, Linden, Lethem and on the Essequibo Coast,” the Prime Minister wrote.

“We hit the road with other ministers, who listened to our people, reached out to them and gave answers to their many concerns. In Berbice, I saw an incompetent former Regional Executive Officer (REO) fretting and sweating when small contractors complained about favouritism and corrupt practices in the region. The REO resigned sometime after,” the Prime Minister explained.

From those initial outreaches, Prime Minister Nagamootoo further explained, the Coalition Government expedited the establishment of regional offices to deal with issuance of passports, birth and death certificates and, more recently, Guyana Revenue offices.

The de-centralisation of public services resulted in the creation of four new towns; construction of Magistrates’ Courts at far-off places such as Lethem; the establishment of six regional radio stations in Lethem, Aishalton, Mabaruma, Bartica, Mahdia and Orealla, and expansion of internet connectivity to hinterland communities. Today, there are some 172 internet hubs at schools and government offices, many in the remote interior areas,” Prime Minister noted.

Prime Minister Nagamootoo noted that while there was a pause in the government meeting with the people, this exercise resumed during 2018.

“We are stubbornly committed to inclusive, participatory democracy; and going into the communities is not a public relations jaunt, but a genuine move to ground with the grassroots,” the prime minister wrote as he commended his colleagues for their commitment and dedication to the people.

Rebecca Ganesh  

Image:  Department of Public Information

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