‘One Guyana initiative requires commitment from every Guyanese’

– Agriculture Minister

Mashramani celebrations have returned in grand style, with the hosting of flag raising ceremonies in each administrative region.

The Region Six ceremony was held at the State House in New Amsterdam and featured Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha as the keynote speaker.

He used the opportunity to urge Guyanese to work together for the betterment of the country, in keeping with President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s ‘One Guyana’ initiative.

The ‘One Guyana’ initiative seeks to promote racial and religious harmony across Guyana regardless of one’s class, gender, or political affiliation, with the overall goal of achieving prosperity.

“As we celebrate our 53rd Republic anniversary, we are developing as a nation, and we should celebrate our achievements. As you are aware, Mashramani is the celebration of a job well done.  I encourage you to take time to reflect on our growth as a nation and join in the celebration as you mix and mash as one in Guyana,” he said.

The minister reinforced the government’s commitment to improving the living standard and the livelihood of every Guyanese, noting that they have been working tirelessly to create a future in which all Guyanese have equal opportunities for progress.

“The One Guyana initiative is a commitment from the government that requires action from every single Guyanese citizen. Because of this, as a country, we are more united today than we are divided. This era of development we are about to undertake requires all facets of our country working together in harmony; our parliamentary system, the opposition parties, civil society and the diaspora,” minister Mustapha said.

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Meanwhile, Minister Mustapha also drew attention to the developmental works the government has in store for Region Six as an agriculture and infrastructure hub.

This includes the construction of more community roads, canals, pumps, drainage systems, and dams.

Aside from agricultural infrastructure, two brand-new hospitals are slated for construction in Berbice, as well as a port facility, and a state-of-the-art stadium, where international sports will be hosted.

These are only a few of the government’s plans for the region’s development.

“These projects will create thousands of jobs for Berbicians, despite the setback of the sugar industry and the loss of livelihood experienced by workers in Region Six. Our government has persevered and will be fulfilling its commitment to reopen the Rose Hall sugar estate. And I want to assure you as your minister of agriculture, that operation will commence at the Rose Hall factory in the second half of 2023. Once again, you’ll see that factories produce sugar. We have already re-employed 1,060 of those persons who were placed on the breadline back into the industry,” Minister Mustapha expressed.

He revealed that almost 1,250 hectares of cane have been planted at Rose Hall, with the estate expected to produce some 4,374 metric tonnes of sugar from the harvesting of 61,240 metric tonnes of cane.

“That’s the plan. That’s the vision of our government: to bring economic prosperity to the people of our country, to reemploy people, to ensure that we put people to engage in economic benefit. And that is why when we talk about the resources of our country, every single Guyanese will enjoy the resources,” he said.

Meanwhile, Regional Chairman, David Armogan, cited transformational projects such as the construction of a deep-water harbour, the $10 billion Palmyra project, a centre for persons with disabilities, and the expansion of a major road into a four-lane highway; lauding the economic development taking place under the Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali-led Administration.

“Things are happening in our country. Things are happening in our region, and in a few years from now, you will see a total transformation in this region where every single person will benefit from what we are producing here,” he said.

Last year, various members of government alluded to the major-scale development slated for the ancient county of Berbice.