President commissions well in Lethem

Apr 22, 2014 News

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Residents of Lethem, Region Nine will now enjoy a better supply of potable water. President Donald Ramotar on Saturday commissioned a new Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) well in the community.
The President was accompanied by Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali; Amerindian Affairs Minister, Pauline Sukhai;  Minister of Culture Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony and GWI’s Chief Executive Officer, Shaik Baksh.
President Ramotar said, “I want to express great satisfaction that this facility is working and is providing water to Lethem.”
He stressed the importance of water for domestic purposes and for industrial, manufacturing and developmental use. Supplying potable water is a top priority for the government, he added.
“In the Rupununi, particularly in Lethem, the community is a microcosm of what is taking place in the rest of Guyana, this community is growing by leaps and bounds.”
“Plans are on stream for another well which will serve the new housing area for domestic use, and also in anticipation of the growing industrial development,” President Ramotar said.
“We are already seeing new developments in this region -large scale farming, in Lethem we have been investing a lot in the water sector, in 2009 we invested $17 million; 2010, $58 million; 2011, $47 million; 2012, $25 million, and last year $28 million.”
Over the past year new wells have been drilled in Baitun and Ruperti to the benefit of the residents.
“We hope to move into other regions to ensure they have reliable and potable water.
In terms of developing the human capital, the President alluded to the fact that the administration has constructed several new high schools with dormitories with the aim of having 100 percent children having secondary education which is vital for any type of development.
The President said that the combined opposition is grasping at every opportunity to stymie development. They have made significant cuts to the national budget which will impact significantly on hinterland communities, he said.
“That is why we have the Amerindian Development Fund (ADF), and all of those things were cut. I cannot believe that anyone who is interested in any kind of development will want to cut funds that will develop citizens…the ADF is aimed at providing cheap finance to help new businesses to expand their own project and their livelihood.”
The Head of State added other key developmental projects have also been affected within the health, tourism, and aviation sector.
“Not only has money been cut from Amerindians, but many other funds that have been cut will have a direct impact on interior communities – the cuts for Ministry of Works will affect us by not being able to fix many hinterland airstrips which will ultimately affect tourism which can be a big boost for this region,” he said.
“It is clear that we can’t take these people at their word. In Parliament the opposition was talking about development west of the Essequibo, but every single project west of the Essequibo that is in this budget, in the same budget period they have cut, and the AFC who joined with them we clearly see that their interest is not the people.”
According to President Ramotar, the administration will continue to progress and build Guyana.
Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali said that he was pleased with the successful completion of the project as it is a reflection of continued progress.
“When the President assumed office, he made a number of commitments in the manifesto he was elected on, also in his successive policy statements in relation to water, and particularly in relation to the development of Lethem.”
Minister Ali added that in relation to water, the commitment was to have 100 percent coverage in terms of access all across Guyana, and in the various regions.
“Here in this region, we are pleased with GWI that we have been able to work on the president’s commitment in having almost all of the communities powered by solar driven wells. More than 60 percent of the entire hinterland is covered with at least one solar driven facility.”
The Minister said it is the administration’s plan that before the end of the President’s first term,  to have 100 percent coverage in terms of each village having at least one solar driven well.
“Here in Lethem we have had tremendous strain on the water system as a result of the development that is taking place, in terms of the expansion of the commercial sector, and so on and we had to invest in this facility.”
The Minister also announced that another well will soon be commissioned in Lethem with the hope those two wells will not only satisfy the present demand, but cater for an increase in demand that Lethem itself is necessitating as a result of its growth.
“I’m pleased that the president made a commitment in terms of coordination of the Lethem Development Authority. In addition, the president had made a commitment of setting aside money for the upgrade of the industrial estate in this year’s budget and more than $190 million has been set aside for that estate.”

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