Minister Ferguson visits Eastville Housing Scheme

On Sunday, March 25, Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MOPI), Hon. Annette Ferguson, met with members of the Eastville Housing Scheme Co-operative Society, East Coast Demerara to listen to their concerns. The meeting came on the heels of an invitation by the Society’s Chairman, Maria Bailey.

At the meeting, several issues were raised by residents, including poor drainage, insufficient streetlights, roads that require rehabilitation and the need for workshops and training within the community. There was also a call for the improvement of an access way into the housing scheme.

The residents are requesting that the Ministry of Public Infrastructure replace the current wooden bridge, that serves as the sole means of entrance into the community, with a concrete structure. Another resident requested the building of a second bridge to serve as an alternate route.

Furthermore, the residents emphasised the need for an improved delivery of service from the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) and Guyana Power and Light Incorporated. (GPL). According to the residents, there has been no immediate supply of electrical power from GPL to the Nursery School in the community for over six months.

The issue of the handing over of the Eastville Housing Scheme to the National Democratic Council (NDC) was also raised. Immediate past Regional Chairman of Region Four, Clement Corlette, who is also a Commissioner on the Local Government Commission, recommended that the management committee needed to make an application to the Evaluation Office for an Evaluator to visit the scheme to begin the process. Chairman Bailey made a commitment to the membership that the handing over process to the NDC would begin this December.

Meanwhile, Minister Ferguson expressed her gratitude to the committee for the invitation. While the Minister did not make any promises to the membership of the scheme, she said MOPI will explore the possibilities of their request while pointing out that the Ministry’s budget for 2018 has already catered for a number of projects across the country. Minister Ferguson further assured the residents that she will submit their concerns to her fellow ministerial colleagues and respective agencies in order for them to respond to their requests in a timely manner.