“We were knocked down, but not knocked out” Min. Cummings to Moco Moco residents

− Ministerial outreach in Rupununi Region continues until Feb. 17

− residents urged not to be misguided by empty promises

DPI, Guyana, Friday, February 15, 2019

Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings today told residents of Moco Moco village, South Rupununi that nothing should distract them from the tremendous successes brought by the Coalition Government over the last three-plus years.

Part of a ministerial outreach to Region 9, Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo, Minister Cummings took a message of hope to the Indigenous community situated some 12 miles from Lethem.

Residents were informed of the political situation in the country and assurances were given not to fear, as growth and development will continue.

“We are living in serious times. We were betrayed by one of our members, but we come against that. We were knocked down, but not knocked out,” she told the residents.

The minister said while the administration is abiding by the Constitution, it also continues to take advantage of all legal avenues that can bring redress.

“We know that we will exhaust all legal angles way until we get redress.”

According to Minister Cummings, the government is working with the best interest of all Guyanese at heart and has been ensuring that all citizens have equitable access to every national resource.

“We need the people of this region to have good roads, good water, better access to health care and of course better income.”

She reminded that Guyana is on the verge of a major economic transformation, one that will change the life of all citizens.

She advised the residents against accepting little “handouts” from people just for votes.

“We want to empower you; we don’t want you to sit down with folded hands to collect handouts. You want to be lenders, not borrowers… We want you to vote squarely for the APNU+AFC government as you can see the transformation that happened over the last three and a half years.”

Residents were urged to take full control of their community, as the minister reminded that it was this administration that returned local democracy to all Guyanese. She said through collaboration between the Local Government, the Granger administration intends to address the issue of food security, water and sanitation, health care, and business development.

“We are making progress; we don’t want to stop this progress. We are going at a pace, we don’t want anything to distract us,” Minister Cummings said.

She noted that the administration remains committed to regional development as she explained that the strategy is designed to improve the economic and social lives of Moco Moco residents and the region at large. Some projects to be undertaken this year in the region include the construction of the Regional Administration Annex, the rehabilitation of the living quarters at St. Ignatius, the cultivation and production of ginger at Moco Moco, and sweet potato at Woweta. This year will also see the construction of several bridges in villages across the region.

She related that the government has so far for the year spent $9M intervention in Moco Moco. The village has benefited from grants totalling $4M for several projects. $5M will also be pumped into the community’s multipurpose centre.

Several issues relating to birth certificates, transportation, education and teenage pregnancy were raised and Minister Cummings assured that these will be addressed by the respective ministries.

Alexis Rodney.

Images: Anil Seelall.

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