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Region Three Chairman, PNCR member clash over interventions for farmers
…Agriculture Ministry admits that contracts not cost effective
The canal which is currently being excavated by the Agriculture Ministry in Rosenanti Tuschen Backland, EBE.
People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) Member of Parliament, Mervyn Williams, and Chairman of Region Three, Julius Faerber, were yesterday engaged in a very blunt exchange of words, as they differed on interventions being made at the regional level to support farmers on the West Coast of Demerara.
During a farmers meeting yesterday at Rosenanti, Tuschen Backlands’, East Bank Essequibo, Williams said that the Regional Democratic Council which is being headed by Faerber, needs to get its act together in terms of its priorities.
According to Williams, in many instances, representation is made to the region on critical issues, but nothing is done.
Representation has to be made at a higher level because of the inefficiency and failure of the regional administration to act, he added.
“This has to be fixed or central government will continue to be burdened and the whole question of local democracy will come into question again,” Williams said.
However, this comment attracted a strong rejection from Faerber, who noted that interventions are indeed made by the region, but there are limitations at the level of the regional administration.
Faerber explained that Williams is contradicting what has been done by the region.
Minister Persaud did agree that the region is limited in terms of its assistance to farmers.
The farmers in the Tuschen backlands made representation for drainage support in the area, and as such, the Agriculture Ministry has sent two excavators into the Rosenanti community to excavate the canal.
“I recognise that it is an area in which for some time we needed to put much more support…we recognise the limitations in the region that’s why, centrally we have come in and support the region…working with the farmers,” Persaud said.
The excavation works are being done by equipment from the Agriculture Ministry.
“If you were to award this to a contractor, it might have been millions and millions of dollars…but because we are using our own equipment and managing it ourselves, it does not affect our immediate cash and resource availability…just that we had to divert equipment from another area to this one.”
Persaud also committed to construct a drainage structure for the farmers in the area. This structure he said is expected to cost some $5 million.
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