The “Government Comes to You” outreach programme was held in Bartica on Tuesday and a number of persons expressed their satisfaction with the way their issues were handled and the outcomes, the Department of Public Information (DPI) reported.
DPI said that 82-year old Winston Williams suffered a stroke along his left arm and body six months ago. Since he has been unable to find any kind of employment to sustain him, he braved the early heavy rains and visited the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) booth at the outreach to see what could be done to help him.
Williams recounted what the past few months had been like since his stroke “I can’t work and can’t help myself. This hand (gesturing at left arm) barely can move. About 3-4 months now I am trying to get NIS, because I was in the hospital and when I came out, I applied.”
Fighting back tears, the senior citizen explained that he lived alone and it is often a challenge for him traversing the stairs in his home. He has been out of a job and was hopeful that this outreach was an opportunity for him to get some form of assistance.
The NIS officials advised him how to move the process forward and provided he makes good on his promise to follow through, the agency will be able to investigate his matter fully, and thus be able to give him the assistance he needs, as it appears as though some contributions from his claimed working time are still unaccounted for.
DPI said that members of the Karrau Village Women’s group took advantage of the government outreach to engage with representatives of the Ministry of Social Protection to have their group registered.
Chairperson for the group, Angela Phillips was excited that the group was afforded this opportunity as she related that she had attended the first outreach in Georgetown when she accompanied her village’s Toshao. It was based on her experience there that she urged the women in her group to accompany her to this outreach to seek the help they wanted.
Phillips related her experience with the Ministry of Social Protection, “They assisted me in filling the forms, and so we have to return and get all the signatures of the women in the group and then take it to Georgetown and then we’ll get assistance from Social Protection. In fact, we have already sent in our proposal to the Ministry but they say we must be registered first.”
By becoming a registered organisation, it would open doors for the group to engage in a number of proposals aimed at not only improving the livelihood of women in the community but would also allow for them to market some of the various products made by the women in the village
“I finally got what I deserve,” exclaimed Marlon Norton after he was allocated a plot of land at the government outreach in Bartica.
Norton a small business owner said he had applied for his own a house lot in 2011 when he then resided in Georgetown, on a small plot of land provided by his father. He explained that he has been living in Bartica for some time and decided to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the outreach to apply for a transfer. The 53-year old father of four related that, when he visited the Central Housing and Planning Authority booth, he was initially told that contact would be made with him in four weeks. However, he received a call less than 30 minutes after leaving the booth, informing him that he had been allocated a plot of land.
“This is living; from this now you can build and you can live. This is what I wanted,” an overjoyed Norton said while firmly holding his letter of allocation in his hand. When asked how soon he planned to being construction, Norton replied that he could begin as soon as tomorrow adding that all he needs is the go ahead from the surveyor.
The businessman related that he sells fish and chips and disclosed that it has been financially difficult for him, since he is currently paying a monthly rent of $60,000 adding that he has a newborn baby.
“At least I know that I have a home to put my baby and not a rental and be disturbed by landlord trampling on me so this is what I had wanted,” he added.
A visibly overjoyed Ayana Khan-Hamid, can now breathe a sigh of relief now that she is in possession of a house lot. She received the news at the outreach. This comes after a 13-year wait following her application in 2006. The single mother of one was the first to be allocated a plot of land out of the hundreds that flocked to the Central Housing and Planning Authority booth.
“I am very happy. I applied for a land in 2006 and I was given a runaround. Now I am here and I got through, I am grateful and I want to thank the President, the cabinet and everybody for this,” Kham-Hamid stated.
Describing the news as a “big relief”, the mother of one is happy that very soon she will not be burdened with paying rent.
