The indigenous community of Hiawa, North Rupununi on Monday came in for high praise from the Government for constructing a 340-metre road, which will cut the travelling time to nearby communities.
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo commissioned the “Perseverance Dam”, which took more than two years to be constructed, during his visit to the Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo over the weekend, a release from the Ministry of the Presidency said.
The release said that Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence and Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix also attended the commissioning ceremony.
The government team was in the region for a public day forum. “With your work in your community; every road you build, every dam you construct, you are sending a message to Venezuela that this is our territory, this is our motherland and this is the country we know and we intend to make it better. It doesn’t belong to anyone else. This initiative shows that you want to develop your community, your county, your country,” Nagamootoo said.
Harmon, the release said, expressed admiration for the community spirit displayed by the residents. “It is a pleasure being here to be a part of this ceremony. It truly makes Mashramani a celebration after hard work. I am pleased and happy to be here to share this occasion with you,” he said. “We want to associate and build with you. We want to promote the development of Hiawa. Hiawa must be seen in three years or five years as an area which has grown and that is why we are here. We want to let you know that we are concerned [about] the physical development of the area, as well as the development of the people of the area and we want to support your endeavours. We don’t want you to feel shy [about] your ideas because this Government will not only be sympathetic, but will also support developmental activities that you, the people would like to promote,” Felix said, according to the release.
Toshao of the village, Ian David described some of the challenges the team of residents had to overcome to complete the project.
“The workers will get up and start working at 05:00hrs. We would start work even when it was so dark. We would go for the stones and would encounter snakes in the pile, but we didn’t stop. The prophets of doom said that the project will never happen and many days we wanted to give up, but we didn’t. We persevered and today, it has become a reality,” he said, according to the press release.
Regional Executive Officer, Carl Parker said the regional administration is proud of the village’s effort and achievement, since what would previously have been 42 miles of travelling between villages such as Moco Moco and Kumu, situated at the foot of the mountain, and Lethem, has now been cut to just about two miles. The travelling time, which was over two hours-long, has now been lowered to less than half an hour, he said. According to Parker, the link is important since the communities around the foot of the mountain depend on each other for trade and cultural activities.
