PPP/C, a “boot on the ground” Government – Minister Indar
─ as Cabinet hosts first outreach to Pomeroon-Supenaam
Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, MP, says the PPP/C Administration prides itself as being a “boot on the ground” Government, meeting the needs of all citizens.
The minister was speaking during an interview on Radio Essequibo 95.5 FM, Friday, on day one of a cabinet outreach to Region Two, led by His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali.
Minister Indar said the Government must maintain contact with people on the ground.
“We are everywhere and we are all the time on the ground, I myself, since I became a minister in this government, I have spent limited time in the office, mostly on the ground, we are not the kind of ministers that just take reports from technical people.”
He said ministers will meet with residents all across Region Two, including Upper and Lower Pomeroon, and other riverine communities, the entire coastland.
“We are looking at the issues people face on a daily basis, some persons might have a land issue, some people might have a NIS issue, some people might have a business issue, an issue at GRA, a police issue, an infrastructure issue, a sea defence, a transport issue. Whatever the issue is, we are here first to get the ground up information.”
The minister said some of the issues could be addressed in the short term, while others will be addressed in the 2022 budget.
Responding to questions about the energy sector in the region, Minister Indar said while the Prime Minister is in charge of the sector, he has some responsibility in relation to the management of the sector. He said the region has about 14,000 customers on the grid and about 9.1 megawatts of power, which he added is a mix between the light fuel oil, diesel and the heavy fuel oil, bunker C.
“Those are expensive fuels to run generators and that’s why the cost is so high, it inhibits business development and growth, it cuts your profit because of the cost of doing business. We are in the process of using the GRIF funds, we already have a project profile approved by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The GRIF funds are the monies we received from Norway through the carbon credits that they sold. It’s $85 million US and we are going to put at least six to eight megawatts of solar power and tie it into the grid.”
Lands in Lima Sands and Onderneeming have been identified for the solar project.
However, the Minister stated that an assessment of the areas will determine the megawattage of the solar project. When fed into the system, Minister Indar said, the solar plant will reduce the cost of electricity.