Ituni remains in a state of stagnation despite their repeated pleas for its development, residents have said, plagued by unemployment, poor utility services and economic hardships.
Stabroek News had previously highlighted some of the difficulties that faced residents of the community, which is located 36 miles from Linden, following a visit there in April. A subsequent visit has revealed that there has not been much improvement.
In April, Stabroek News had spoken with businessman Cedric Murphy, who was very disgruntled about the situation in the community. When this newspaper visited him again, he was still very vocal about the poor state of the community.
“I’ve been living in the village for 21 years and have witnessed the community undergo a gradual decline,” he said. According to the businessman, when he first went to Ituni it was a place with much promise but now it is characterised by unemployment and poor utility services.
Murphy said that apart from the phone service, which was fairly satisfactory, all the other utility services were poor. GT&T, he said, had provided residents in the community with landline telephone services and the installation of cell towers allows them to have good quality signal on their cellular phones.
However, the businessman maintained that the power and water supply in the community left a lot to be desired. According to Murphy, the eight hours of electricity that is supplied to residents during the week days is woefully inadequate. From Mondays to Fridays, residents only have access to electricity from 6 pm to 2 am. At weekends, the residents have access for a longer period but even this was not enough, he opined.
Murphy said that the quality of water supplied in the community was very poor and consequently many residents refused to use it. He stated that the majority of residents depended on rain water.
Recently, the Guyana Water Incorporated introduced bio-sand filters to the community in an attempt to improve the quality of water available. The main water source is creek water and the filters are expected to purify the creek water making it safe for drinking. The GWI authorities had promised to provide the moulds for the filters for residents in the community.
Nicole Reid, a teacher at the Ituni primary school, said that life in the village was not without its challenges. She too expressed concern about the poor utility services especially the water supply. She said that for years, she has depended on rain water since the water in the community was often discoloured and not of a very good quality. Reid said that the recent initiative by GWI to introduce bio-sand filters as useful since the water situation needed to be addressed. The teacher, however, opined that the residents may find it difficult to produce the filter (a combination of sand and gravel) which is essential for the functioning of the apparatus.
However, her main concern was the poor standard of the education system. She said that as a teacher she was concerned at the high drop-out rates of the students. “The educational system needs to be addressed,” she said. She further explained that an official was appointed to reexamine the system, but he died and since his death last year, nothing has been done. Reid explained that a programme based on the training of technical-vocational subjects might be more apt. She said that currently only home economics is being taught in the schools and stated that other subjects such as woodwork would be better.
The woman also emphasised that unemployment was a major problem in the community since not many job opportunities were available. Many young people do not have access to job and were often caught liming, she said. She said the more ambitious ones sought jobs elsewhere, most times in Linden.
This was a problem that was also highlighted by Murphy who said that young people including young women would spend their time liming and often getting themselves into unnecessary trouble. He said that this was not helped by the limited police presence in the community.
In spite of the challenges the villagers said they try to cope. One villager told this newspaper that living in the community was not easy, but said that “life is what you make it” and he was determined to do the best in the circumstances. (Mark McGowan)
