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25 homes built for relocated Mahaica Creek residents
Guyana has already begun to see the benefits of the recently-concluded Regional Agriculture Investment forum as one investor confirmed its presence in Guyana with the establishment of a state of the art commercial farm at Hope, East Coast Demerara.
This was announced on Thursday by Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, during the commissioning of 25 houses in the area.
The houses, which cost some $16.5M, represent a donation from Food for the Poor Guyana Inc, to families that were relocated from the flood-hit villages of Joe Hook and Grass Hook, Mahaica River.
According to the Agriculture Minister, the investor was among several that visited the area, during the two-day forum that was hosted in Guyana last week.
The houses that were constructed at Hope, East Coast Demerara will accommodate 100 persons. Another 15 houses are expected to be constructed in the near future.
At Thursday’s commissioning ceremony, Leon Davis, Chief Executive Officer of Food for the Poor, told the gathering that one of the greatest constraints in the construction of the houses was the unpredictable weather.
Davis stated that following the approach by Government to assist the residents of the flood hit communities in Mahaica River, his organisation readily agreed.
During the simple commissioning ceremony, Thursday, Davis pledged that Food for the Poor will give farming implements and seed materials to the relocated farmers in the community.
Minister Persaud said that the allocation of the house lots stemmed from a commitment that was made by President Bharrat Jagdeo in 2005. The infrastructural work in the area was carried out by the Ministry of Housing and Water.
“The Joe Hook and Grass Hook communities over the years have been suffering as a result of heavy rainfall…but the flooding does not only cause disruption to people’s lives but also to the farming and economic activities.”
The fortune of the Hope coconut estate, the Minister said, has over the past decade been at a standstill.
Efforts over the years, he pointed out, have been made to look at initiatives, both private and public, to resuscitate the estate.
These initiatives have not only been focused on the revitalisation of the coconut potential of the estate but also at diversification.
However, the diversification initiatives including crops, livestock and aquaculture have met limited success, the Minister said. “But we have just started a renewed effort. We are looking to collaborate with locally based farmers to encourage economic activities in the area and as such farmers were awarded five acres of land each so that they can carry on their activities,” Minister Persaud said.
Additionally, partners and investors are being sought.
Speaking with Kaieteur News just before the commissioning, Karen Singh, one of the recipients of the houses, said that she previously resided at Grass Hook, Mahaica Creek, under very ‘frustrating’ circumstances.
“I don’t think that I woulda been able to build me own house somewhere else because is Mahaica Creek we used to live. Is farm me does plant…I have five people in my family. I very satisfy with the house, very satisfy,” Singh said.
The story of mother of two, Sharon Looknauth, was no different from Singh’s.
She said that she is a teacher who was also living in a flood hit area.
“Living in an area with constant flood is the worst thing that could happen to anyone… now that I was given this opportunity to come out here I am very happy. I am in the process of getting my transfer and I will be teaching at a school somewhere in this area,” the woman said.
“My God is a faithful God. I know one day I woulda get my desire,” a 69-year-old pensioner told the gathering on Thursday.
The relocated families were not required to pay for the house lots or for any infrastructural work in the communities.
However, they are required to pay a connection fee for their water supply, which is already available.
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