Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai advised Kopinang residents to discuss priority areas for development as the village will soon receive its $3 million Presidential Grant for 2010 and 2011.
Sukhai and a team comprising Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Norman Whittaker and PPP/C Presidential Candidate and Advisor Donald Ramotar on Sunday met with residents of Kopinang and nearby communities in Region Eight.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release the minister said that by October month-end 109 villages will be titled, a number of them will be demarcated and several requests for extensions will be addressed. She also recalled that from 2007 to 2009, Kopinang alone received about $4.5 million to invest primarily in income generating activities. “There has been tremendous progress in this country under the PPP/C Government and that is a track record that will ensure re-election,” Sukhai said.
In his address, Whittaker said since the PPP/C assumed office in 1992 there has been widespread progress in all areas particularly in education, healthcare, infrastructure, food security and communication. He said the party has focused on education “because we realise that this is going to bring you out of poverty” and referred to the rising number of trained teachers and medical doctors that hail from Amerindian communities. The minister also said that the PPP/C has fulfilled most of the promises made in its 2006 manifesto.
While recapping on the ongoing efforts to incorporate Guyana’s hinterland and riverain areas into mainstream development, Ramotar said there will be continuous growth under his tenure if the PPP/C is re-elected. He noted that Guyana has overcome tremendous struggles from being classified in the 1989 McIntyre Report as one of the poorest countries in league with Haiti to now having “a thriving economy.” Echoing Whittaker’s comments, he said the party is fully aware of the nexus between education and poverty reduction and as such it has worked to ensure that there is universal access to primary education and it is poised to do the same with secondary education.
