Gov’t to use proposals from Region Two outreach to craft 2022 projects

Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, MP, has said the Government will use the proposals and concerns raised by residents of Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) during the recent Cabinet outreach to craft its 2022 agenda.

Minister Mustapha had joined Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, MP, on Saturday for a community meeting at Aurora Estate.

The outreach sought to ensure the concerns of residents are addressed.

“We want to take those proposals on board to craft our programme for 2022, you know as a government we don’t believe, as the Chairman rightfully said, as a government and a party we don’t believe that we should sit in our office and dictate for the people on the ground and say that this programme should be implemented or that programme should be implemented. We want to hear from you”, Minister Mustapha stated.

Minister Bharrat said the Government has already taken actions to ensure citizens are protected and catered for during the pandemic.

“We would have managed to also provide incentives to the different sectors, we would have given cash grants to assist people during this hard time. Everybody, would have received a $25,000 household Covid cash grant, our children going back to school would have received $19,000 each and then through the Minister of Agriculture, we’re distributing the flood relief and then our pensioners, you would get an additional $ 25,000 too.”

Minister Bharrat noted that the Government will continue to provide assistance to Guyanese.

“And we will continue to do so, we will continue to provide incentives to all the sectors to ensure that everybody can enjoy that better life that we promised.”

Minister Mustapha added that the Government is continuing to make investment in all sectors and not just focus on the oil and gas industry to promote economic development.

“We approach development in a multi-sectoral approach, we are not depending on one sector.   That is why we recognise the importance of certain sectors for the long-term development of our country, for the future of our country”, Minister Mustapha said.

Minister Bharrat pointed out that even through many countries have been faced with severe economic downfall, Guyana is one of the few countries whose economy has grown with the great number of developments seen, since the PPP/C Administration took office last August.  

“And that is something we need to be proud of because our government would have managed the economy in such a way during this difficult period”, he said.

Residents of the area raised a number of concerns including the construction of roads, dams and the high cost of electricity.

Minister Bharrat reminded the residents of the upcoming Gas- to- Energy project and the impact it will have on gas and electricity costs

“That project will address two of our major projects, one, cheap, reliable, clean electricity and not low voltage or fluctuation. S0 it will address that issue…So we will have excess power generation by 2024 which will help the Agricultural sector, the manufacturing sector, the industrial sector.”

Both ministers also called on residents to be vaccinated against the COVID-19.