-VP assures other regions of future outreaches

-by NaAsia Bristol

Hundreds of residents from remote and coastal Region 2 communities turned out despite heavy rainfall for a government outreach led by Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo on Tuesday. During the outreach, the Vice President noted that they were able to address many of the challenges residents faced.

During the Region 2 outreach, residents were given the opportunity to raise personal and community concerns directly with government ministers. Several matters were addressed on the spot, while others were referred for follow-up action. 

Many residents welcomed the initiative, saying it gave ordinary citizens the chance to feel heard and included in the decision-making process. 

“I came to reach their GPL office here concerning a light bill.And I am so happy that I have come, made the effort to come, and so far, I have got through,” Bibi Karim said.

“A lot of times, we as Essequibians have to go all the way to Georgetown, try to get their voices being heard, run to this room, run to that room. And I am very grateful that the government and their minister came down to speak to each one of us here,” another resident, Maria Prince said.

Shurwayne Holder, a former Member of Parliament and PNC Chairman, also praised the government for bringing services directly to the people. 

“And it’s good on the government’s part as well because they get an opportunity to see how their plans, programmes and policies are actually affecting the lives of people, how it’s actually working, if certain parts of the program are not working well and they need to tweak it or they need to go back to Parliament, for example, and have something changed. So it’s something that is very good,” he said.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, meanwhile, noted that the outreach will be implemented in other regions with the aim of continuing to listen to the concerns of citizens and find solutions. 

“Today I came here, I didn’t make a speech. I just listened to people because I hear, I’m here on an outreach to hear what people have to say and then try to, as far as possible, solve as many problems as we can,” he explained.

During the engagement, Dr. Jagdeo also outlined government plans to improve jobs, education, health care, housing and infrastructure in both Amerindian and coastal communities. The outreach follows a previous one that was done at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.