Minister of State, Dawn Hastings-Williams, has announced the establishment of the Rapid Impact Project (RIP), an initiative dedicated to providing funding for small-scale community infrastructural projects.
She related the news to residents during a community engagement at the Cove and John Guyana Women’s Leadership Institute over the weekend, a Department of Public Information (DPI) release stated. It was explained that the residents had raised questions about their drainage, roads, water and the upgrade of the community’s playground.
The Minister noted that RIP will fund initiatives that cost under $1 million, pointing out that their playground upgrade and some road works can be completed through this source of funding.
“These projects should have never been the focus of the central government that is the mandate of the NDCs and the CDCs… but we have failed in that area, and as a government we started the RIP meaning, these are some low hanging fruits, little maintenance, fencing, repairs and so on,” Hastings-Williams explained.
She also noted that emphasis is being placed on upgrading playgrounds in every community, a development that will have a significant impact on the youths in various villages, who will have a safe space for recreational activities. Therefore, she urged them to submit their proposals in order to benefit from the initiative.
DPI reported that on issues of drainage and irrigation raised during the outreach, Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock, made contact with Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder, who committed to sending an engineer to assess the situation. It was stated that those issues will soon be addressed by the Guyana Water Incorporated.
Noting that persons are mandated at the national, regional and local levels to work for the development of the people, Allicock urged residents to put their political differences aside and work for the development of their community, and called on the local democratic organ to work in partnership with other stakeholders to achieve the goal.
It was added that junior minister within the Ministry of Amerindian Peoples’ Affairs, Valerie Garrido-Lowe, during that same outreach promised the residents that she would make representation for streets lights on Oil Mill road.
