Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill and Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha reiterated government’s commitment to improving community roads and developing the agriculture sector during a public engagement in the Mocha/Arcadia community on Friday last.
According to a press release from the Department of Public Information (DPI), Mustapha explained that the community will continue to benefit from initiatives that will see the advancement of the agriculture sector. “I will now instruct the NDIA to provide the [drainage] materials so that they can complete the work faster. So Mr Lionel Wordsworth [Head of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority] is there, and he will ensure that you get the materials in a few days’ time to continue the work,” he was quoted as saying.
The DPI said he also announced that “every farmer in Guyana” will be receiving the Brazilian Green Dwarf coconut variety, which is intended to boost the coconut industry.
Also, assessments will be conducted before farmers receive planting materials. “What we are doing now, we are looking at a survey to know what type of planting materials are needed and where. We are going to reorganise all the nurseries in the country,” Mustapha said, according to the release.
The Mocha community has benefitted from several agricultural interventions and currently some 100 acres of land is being developed for agriculture purposes among other initiatives, the DPI said.
After listening to the residents, Edghill noted that 14 community roads needed rehabilitation, which would cost approximately $500 million. He said that while they cannot all be rehabilitated at once, they will be upgraded in due course, the release said.
“We plan to do the entire 1,000 metres of First and Second streets. The cost of each one of those streets is just above $75 million. So, we are programming it and as soon as we could get funding, we will be proceeding…,” the release quoted him as saying. The outreach also included other ministers. The DPI said that Minister of Public Service Sonia Parag urged residents to take advantage of the education opportunities being afforded through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning. Meanwhile, Minister of Public Affairs Kwame McCoy reaffirmed the administration’s continued support to ensure the betterment of all in the community, and Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal addressed several housing and water related matters and promised that follow-up visits would be conducted in the community.
