Twenty-one 500-gallon water tanks were on Monday delivered to River’s View in Region Seven, where the river water normally used by residents has been contaminated due to mining activities over several years.
According to the Government Information Agency (GINA), River’s View boasts about 700 residents and will receive 37 tanks, in keeping with promise assistance by President Bharrat Jagdeo, who visited the region last month. The remaining 16 tanks are expected to be delivered later this week, while Batavia, also in the region, has received its full promised quota of 37 tanks to benefit its 300 residents.
GINA said for several years residents of the two communities depended on water from the river for their daily activities, but it has become contaminated due to mining.
Raquel Jeffery, a Batavia resident, was quoted as saying that most of the land dredges around the area flush their water into the creek, which flows into the Cuyuni River, thereby making the water unfit for use.
During a recent government outreach exercise, residents voiced concerns about their need for potable water. The tanks provided are expected to assist them to store rain water, GINA noted.
River’s View Toshao Melena Pollard said she was grateful to government for the timely intervention, as was Toshao of Batavia Vincent George. Region Seven Chairman Holbert Knights also expressed appreciation for the tanks. Jeffery and another resident, Agley Smith, were quoted as saying that they and their community were happy with the government’s intervention.
Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali, who handed over the tanks, told residents that they were an investment in the community as government believed “strongly in ensuring that all of our people regardless of where you live, social status or religious persuasion… should benefit equitably and fairly from the revenue.” Ali also said that with assistance from the Ministry of Amerindians Affairs, the second and third phases of the initiative to provide additional tanks would be realised by year end.
Ali and a team from the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) and the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), including Permanent Secretary Emile McGarrell; CEO, CH&PA Myrna Pitt; Land Allocation Manager Denise Tudor; Chief Development and Planning Officer Rawle Edinboro; GWI Hinterland Water Manager Akram Hussain; and Public Relations Officer Timothy Austin met with residents. Regional Executive Officer Peter Ramotar also attended the meeting.
Ali fielded questions about land demarcation, the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) project, and recreational facilities. Residents of Falmouth, located a few miles from River’s View, asked that a nursery school be built in their community.
They also noted that health workers do not visit their communities often and GINA noted that steps were taken that will allow residents to benefit from health outreaches.
In response, Ali told Falmouth residents that it is not feasible for government to build a nursery school for 10 students. However, he said a person from the area can be trained in nursery tutoring to cater to these students. Regarding the OLPF project, the minister said government has embarked on a special strategy to for hinterland residents to ensure that areas with electricity can benefit.
“The President has made this very clear that we are going to look at the riverain and hinterland communities and to build small centres to start with and we are going to try and power those centres with solar energy and then put computers in that centre so that the communities can benefit as we come up with the more elaborate programme of having solar panels in every home and laptop in every home,” he said.
Ali also assured the meeting that work is ongoing to ensure that hinterland residents can acquire land titles. “Amerindian land titling, the Toshao can tell you she is working the Ministry of Amerindians Affairs, there are challenges and there are a lot communities that have to be addressed and part of the Low Carbon Development Strategy is to have money that would be derived out of that strategy going towards the titling of lands because we believe that all Amerindians, all of our people in hinterland, must be empowered with the ownership of this land,” he said.
