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Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha while engaging a resident from Manchester

The minister along with the visiting team conducted a community walk-through in Manchester, Zambia (Black Bush Polder), and Number 53 Village (Union) to get a first-hand look at the drainage and infrastructural needs in the areas, as the government continues with its developmental plans for communities across the country.

Minister Mustapha indicated that the visit resulted from commitments made to community representatives who had previously engaged him.

Minister Mustapha engages senior citizens from Number 53 Village (Union) in Region SIx

“This visit is a result of some issues that were raised with me when I was in New Amsterdam a few days ago with the President and I committed to coming today to see firsthand what were some of the issues and how we can resolve them. The main issues raised were drainage and improved access within their communities. So, as early as next week in Manchester, we’ll start desilting the internal drains. There is also a major canal at the back of that village that we’ll do work on. I’ve asked the engineer to send a machine by Monday to start those works,” he explained.

Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha while engaging a resident from Number 53 Village (Union)

As it relates to Number 53 Village, Minister Mustapha said that the ministry is also scheduled to commence works to upgrade drainage infrastructure in the community.

“In Number 53 Village, there are some drainage issues that we’ll tackle immediately. We’ll construct some culverts and so on because we engaged the residents and these were the requests they made. We are committed to working with everyone and it is clear that Guyanese want development. They are seeing that this government is all about development and given the response and the welcome received I know that we have the support,” the minister noted.

One resident from Manchester village told the minister that there are many young people in the community in need of jobs who are interested in agriculture.

Minister Mustapha explained that there are opportunities in agriculture for youths and that he would soon be launching the president’s Agriculture and Innovation Entrepreneurship Programme (AEIP) in the area.

“I’ll also be coming back to Manchester soon because a resident indicated that a number of youths want to get involved in agriculture cultivating high-value crops. You know the president established that programme and said that we will replicate it nationwide. So, I’ll work with the community to identify the youths and soon we’ll be back to launch that programme in the Manchester/Lancaster/ Liverpool area,” he noted.

Aside from the central hub of Lethem, satellite villages such as Parikwarinau, Potarinau, Sand Creek, Tiger Pond and Karasabai were all visited by Minister Persaud for the first time.

Residents benefitted from both an educational and interactive experience on topical issues such as sexual offenses and domestic violence, assistance through the Difficult Circumstances Unit, help from the Childcare and Protection Agency as well as queries on public assistance and old age pension.

Notably, most of the communities touched were given a commitment to have persons trained through the Guyana Women’s Leadership Institute’s Women’s Investment and Innovative Network (WIIN), particularly in garment construction.

Minister Persaud said, “where government is concerned, we don’t think anything is too much to bring to any region and to bring to every person across the length and breadth of Guyana. When the President, His Excellency Dr. Irfaan Ali says One Guyana, he means everyone in this one Guyana and when I came, I am looking at the development that is happening here and the pace in which it is happening. This is what our government is all about, ensuring everyone of you, irrespective of age or gender have the opportunity to reach their full potential.”

“Never before in the history of this country we have seen so many pensioners or beneficiaries of Public Assistance and Permanent Disability. From 2020 when we got into government to now we moved from 60,000-odd pensioners to 73,000 pensioners this year. We started the six-month payment period and now we are working to see between six months and quarterly how often we can have the direct payment come in more regularly and what we have been doing is to improve the system centrally,” Minister Persaud added.

Residents on the sidelines of the visit, complimented Minister Persaud for the drastic change that resulted in the prompt delivery of their old age pension and public assistance since assuming office.

Regional Chairman, Bryan Allicock related, “What you are seeing here is what was promised, and you see this minister here, when she commits to something, she does it and we go all out to satisfy our people. What I want to see is my people happy and they live a comfortable life… that is why Minister took the time to be here with us…”

In the beautiful mountain top village of Potarinau, Toshao Peter Stanislaus related that Minister Persaud was the sixth Minister to come to the community in the past three years and exemplified the Government’s commitment to development in far-flung communities.

Sand Creek Village Toshao, Eugene Andrews highlighted that development is happening gradually, especially in Region Nine and we see this because of the commitment by the government.

Edith Xavier, a pensioner, said “I am happy to see the Minister who is responsible for pension come to see us, I must say thanks to her for making us receive it faster.”

Edward Edwards was also pleased with the exercise. He pointed out, “It is good to see the government coming to us, lots of time it is like we are forgotten but we see the effort of this government and we are pleased to have them here to listen to us and experience the beauty of the region.”