Almost half a year since devastating floods, Region Nine is “back on-stream,” according Regional Executive Officer (REO) Ronald Harsawack.
He made this declaration while briefing local government ministers Ganga Persaud and Norman Whittaker as well as Permanent Secretary Collin Croal. at a recent meeting aimed at ensuring that all financial mechanisms are in place in order to close 2011 work programmes that are incomplete, according to the Government Information Agency (GINA).
Harsawack and REOs of regions Eight and Seven updated the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development on their 2011 work programmes and their plans for the new year.
Harsawack told GINA that the region had a successful year where it strengthened infrastructure and boosted the transportation sector. He said they were able to build “miles and miles of roads in the savannahs, the roads within Lethem and construct a lot of bridges and culvert along the route between Lethem and Aishalton.”
Regarding education, the REO said, “the region spent in excess of $21M in providing school furnishing to the over 80 schools in the region.” Several schools were rehabilitated and construction of Sand Creek Secondary is almost complete. Harsawack also said that all the region’s schools are now fully equipped with all the necessary furniture and equipment. In the health sector, he noted that new services are now being offered at the Lethem Hospital and health centres have been rehabilitated across the region. The region also continued to provide training for its Community Health Workers and medex and it benefited from an influx of new nurses and doctors.
In the area of agriculture, Harsawack said the artificial insemination, crop management and pest eradication programmes continued in several communities. “Region 9 is now recovering from the flood in July, but I can safely say things are now back on-stream, crop production is back on stream because of the government and the various ministerial interventions,” he added. The REO also predicted that 2012 will see the “picking up the slack from where it left off in 2011 and strengthen its health and education institutions.”
Region Eight REO Ishwar Dass reported that several strides were made in the education and electricity sectors in his region.
Dass said the $44.3M was allocated to the region for education and this sum was spent on the following programmes: $9M to enclose the bottom of the Mahdia Secondary School to cater for 100 children; $5M to set up an IT lab at the same school; and $8M for the construction of an Industrial Art Centre at Paramakatoi. Teachers’ quarters were also built at Mahdia to the tune of $9M, while renovations were done to the Paramakatoi Secondary School. This included tiling the floor, replacing windows and upgrading water facilities. Dass said focus was put on education because it has performed the poorest across the nation.
“We realize that we have to ensure we have system in place to ensure we move from this level to something higher,” he added.
In the health sector, $11.5M allocated was spent renovating the Kato Cottage Hospital, the Mahdia District Hospital and on the X-Ray facility at the latter centre. More than 100 miles of road were upgraded between Monkey Mountain and Orinduik, with the $30M allocated to the region for the development of transportation infrastructure, Dass said. The bridges along the route were also upgraded.
Dass noted that one of the major highlights for the region is that it now enjoys electricity 24 hours per day. He said consumers are charged $100 per kilowatt for electricity consumption though the first 15 kilowatts every month are free. The fees are used to purchase the fuel and the remainder has been put into an account to be used to facilitate any repairs or upgrades that the system may require.
Region Seven REO Peter Ramotar said the region’s education sector benefited greatly from works last year. A $20M annex was built at the St Anthony’s Primary School while rehabilitative works, valued at $20M, were done at the Two Miles Primary School.
The dormitory and students’ quarters at Baramalli were extended to the tune of $25M through a joint collaboration between the Ministry of Education and the region.
In addition, a health post was built at Wax Creek; doctors’ quarters at Kamarang, while services at the Bartica hospital were upgraded.
