The villages of Agatash, Itaballi, Batavia and Dogg Point in Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Region Seven, are the beneficiaries of close to $1 million each through the Presidential Grants programme.
According to a Department of Public Information (DPI) release, the cheques were handed over to the leaders of the respective villages by Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock during the recently held ‘Government comes to you’ outreach in the Bartica Township. The monies are to be used for various community projects.
Allicock explained that the initiative is part of the administration’s vision to provide support to communities based on their needs. “The support that we give is as a result of your wish to develop your village youths. Like you we believe that allowing the young people to get fully involved in sports results in healthy bodies and minds and who knows, they can become representatives of this beautiful country,” the Minister was quoted as saying
Itaballi Village will be using its funds to install solar lights at its community centre ground. Batavia will be purchasing a generator and installing floodlights and Agatash will be constructing closed washroom facilities whilst Dogg Point will be constructing a meat centre in the village.
Chairman of the Agatash Community Development Council (CDC), Mark Ambrose explained that his village can now host games and other social activities even more comfortably once the washroom facilities are constructed. “We have regular activities; we have a football club and a female cricket club so every day you would find youths occupying the playfield,” Ambrose noted. The ground has already benefitted from major enhancement.
Ambrose told the DPI that last year’s Presidential Grant was used to construct a village benab to host meetings and other activities for the village youths. In 2020, the community will be boosting its tourism project with the upgrading of the waterfront.
Coleen Singh, Chairperson of the Itaballi CDC, pointed out that the majority of the youths within her village are involved in sports. “We have lots of young men who like sports and our girls are also involved. Every Sunday, they would go to the playfield to play, only recently we received solar lights to the building which we never had so they would come to the building to play [and] now they have requested that we develop the ground so that they can have games and invite other communities.”
Over at Dogg Point village, a meat processing centre is slated to be constructed to create employment for many villagers. CDC Chairman, Thomas John said that the project will make way for major economic improvement for the community and its residents.
This year, the government has allocated some $700 million for green sustainable projects in hinterland communities. Of this amount, over $200 million will be used for Presidential Grant projects, the release added.
