As the time creeps closer to when Bartica is to be proclaimed a town, Regional Chairman Gordon Bradford has disclosed that an application has been made to extend the community’s borders to almost three times the current size as they want to be “as independent as possible.”
Township orders for the upgrading of Bartica to a town were laid in the National Assembly on Thursday and President David Granger has said that Bartica will be a town on April 23rd next year.
Speaking on Sunday afternoon to reporters after Guyana Defence Force ranks parachuted onto the community’s playground, Bradford said that while Bartica’s borders currently encompass about five square miles, a proposal has been made to extend it to about 14 square miles. “So the township now will take in all the quarries we have in the Mazaruni and in the Essequibo Rivers and so we look as we develop, to extend the boundaries,” Bradford said. He added that if the extension is approved, then the town will look into collecting royalties.
The chairman disclosed that a proposal will be made for at least a percentage of the royalties collected, whether from mining, logging, or other activities in the township, to go to the town. These funds would be used for the development of Bartica. “Only rates and taxes and fees from the markets are currently collected and we wish, just as if any economic activity is taking place in an Amerindian community, a percent of whatever is earned is given back to them, to have the same,” Bradford asserted. He added that if the town is able to obtain at least 2-3% of the royalties, he is positive that it will go a far way in assisting in the development of Bartica.
According to Bradford, the main priority would be tourism and there are already investments in this sector. “You’ll see a lot of Barticians coming back home and the Regatta will be bigger, better, and brighter. So definitely you will see Bartica on the move next year and we hope to have a Miss Bartica Township,” the chairman said. He added that he wishes to have a week of activities to commemorate Bartica’s township status.
The first phase of action is to improve the community’s infrastructure and educate residents in order to make a smooth transition from village to town. “We have to look at every aspect of development from village status to township status and of course it won’t be done in the given time frame but we have Phase 1. We are looking to get as many people on board and people to understand and we can only do that by educating them. They need to know that there are responsibilities when we become a town and I believe things will certainly change,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the chairman highlighted that currently, residents have to cope with scheduled power outages. He commended the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) staff for “going the extra mile and working to ensure that there isn’t too much discomfort.” However, he said, as a result of the sporadic power outages, people living in the higher areas in Bartica are currently out of water because of a malfunction with one of the pumps. “But again I wish to commend the staff for working very hard…whilst we crave for the 24-hour a day water supply, which we pray will soon come on stream,” he said.
According to the chairman, he was interested in moving away from fossil fuels and making Bartica the first green town. “We understand the situation and definitely moving now from fossil fuel and, as His Excellency has pointed out…Bartica will be the first green town and we know that studies, feasibility studies, are being done to look at wind and hydro energy,” he said. He expressed hope that in the not so distant future, power outages will be a thing of the past.
Bradford said that he shares the same vision with President David Granger in making Bartica the first green town. He recalled that there have been several tree planting activities around the community. “We will do some more planting and I don’t think we need much more of that. If you look around we are green all over,” the chairman joked.
He said that there will be more tree planting, especially around schools. He recalled the period when he was in school and was able to stop at the trees while going to and from school, to pick various fruits. He said that he wants the younger generation to experience such days.
Meanwhile, the chairman identified the unemployment rate for young people, teenage pregnancies and dropouts, as three of the most pressing issues plaguing the community. He suggested that the only way to deal with the ongoing problems facing Bartica’s youth is to focus on educating the youths and their parents.
“I gave a lecture last Friday and I…bemoaned…the fact that not many of the problems we see in today’s society began with the children, but with us, the adults. We are asking parents and we are encouraging them to be more involved in their children’s future. They have to be more involved in everything they do,” Gordon declared.
He said that many times, teachers are expected to cope with the issues in school but most of the problems start in the home. “We have situations where in dorms, we have children who turn up pregnant and what have you but when you do investigate, it didn’t happen in the dorms but rather where they came from,” the chairman added.
Bradford also said that while there are petty crimes in Bartica, the major ones are committed in the interior where there is minimal police presence. “The big ones happen in the interior because of the lack of equipment and what’s not and I know the government is taking a serious look at that,” he added.
According to the chairman, the key to lowering the crime rate in the interior is to have more outposts placed at strategic areas. However, he said, he understands the difficulty in implementing such a plan as the population in the interior is largely transient. “In mining, nothing is permanent, today you find a large concentration (of persons) in a given area and then tomorrow, they have moved to another place and it’s the same with educational and health facilities in those areas,” he added.
