Residents from the villages of Whim, Bloomfield, and other surrounding areas along the Corentyne Coast will now benefit from improved services with the addition of a brand-new tractor-trailer to the region’s fleet.
The new addition comes following mounting requests from residents and members of the Whim/Bloomfield Neighborhood Democratic Council (NDC) for assistance with a tractor to complement garbage collection activities within the villages.
During several meetings last year, residents voiced their concerns over the unhygienic state in several parts of the villages as garbage would be piled up for days in designated and undesignated areas for garbage disposal. When questioned, members of the NDC indicated that they were in need of a tractor-trailer to carry out the necessary services but because of the lack of funds they were unable to procure one. They also said that it was affecting both the health and commercial activities of those residing within the catchment of the NDC.
Today Prime Minister, Honourable Mark Phillips and Agriculture Minister, Honourable Zulfikar Mustapha handed over keys of a $5 million tractor-trailer which was procured by the Agriculture Ministry’s Agriculture Sector Development Unit (ASDU) under the Rural Agriculture Infrastructure Development (RAID) project to members of the NDC for use within the villages.
While offering remarks, Minister Mustapha said residents have been complaining about garbage collection services within the area which continued to pose health threats to those residing within the NDC catchment.
“We committed to assisting the community with a tractor and we are here to deliver on that commitment. I hope that the NDC uses the tractor effectively because many residents have been complaining that their garbage has been piling up and that the NDC is not effective in their garbage collection services. Now that they have a tractor, they will use it for that purpose. The central government has given support in this and every NDC and municipality around this country because we know, in many cases, the monies collected from residents for rates and taxes cannot carry out all of the necessary infrastructural work needed so we are making these investments,” he noted.
Prime Minister, Hon. Mark Phillips said that Guyana is currently experiencing accelerated growth and that the government was focused on ensuring that both the present and future generations benefit from the funds received from the country’s oil and gas resources.
“We are now at a stage in Guyana where all of us are experiencing and being part of accelerated development; development at a faster pace than anyone of us would’ve experienced before in Guyana… When you look around you see streets are being done; hospitals are being repaired or new hospitals are being constructed; you’re seeing water treatment facilities being done; housing schemes in all regions of the country… I’m here to tell you that you have a government that is focused not only on collecting the oil and gas money and putting it into a fund to watch it grow. We are committed to feeding, building, and ensuring all the people are alive today benefit from that money, while at the same time, we’ll put aside an amount so future generations can benefit. That is our approach to government,” the Prime Minister noted.
Meanwhile, Minister Mustapha also told the gathering that the government has been working to strengthen the infrastructure within the villages after they would’ve been neglected prior to August 2020.
“I know for a fact that in this community and in a number of other communities, we’ve seen many pieces of infrastructure were neglected. Since we’ve resumed office, we’ve started a transformation in this community. Over 21 streets were either built of are in the process of being completed. Right here in Whim; when you look at the entire Whim/Bloomfield NDC; it is the most flood-prone area out of the three villages,” he explained.
He disclosed that it is the hope of the government that the village’s agricultural activities are revitalized with the planned infrastructural upgrades that will be executed during the course of the year.
“This year, right here in Whim, 14 streets will be built. We’ve already desilted almost all of the internal drains in the community. We’ve started to do excavation works in the cultivation areas so that farmers can go back to the land. We know that this NDC used to produce a lot of agriculture products, especially rice. We are working overtime to ensure we rebuild the infrastructure, desilt the canals, and replace and upgrade the existing infrastructure so that you can go back to the land. When I came here two months ago, I said that within months you’d have a new pump. In less than two months we’ve installed that pump and it is functional today,” he noted.
