Granger pledges safer Bartica

Apr 29, 2015 News

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…to make it 7th town, Bartica-Potaro road a highway
The riverain village in the Cuyuni Mazaruni, Bartica, came alive on Sunday as leaders and thousands of

party supporters for the recently formed coalition, A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) made their way to the community centre ground for a grand rally.
Hours before the start, hundreds of eager supporters lined the streets decked out in yellow and green. Some even donned the party flags and had creative hairstyles to suit.
Supporters drove around the avenues in Bartica waving flags from their decorated vehicles while others stood waiting long before Presidential candidate, Brigadier David Granger and Prime Ministerial candidate, Moses Nagamootoo arrived.
It was clear that the scores of vehicles with patrons waving Guyana flags as well as green and yellow flags were heading in one direction: towards the Bartica Community Centre Ground, the place where party candidates were set to tell them exactly what they would do if elected to govern.
The evening was one of cultural presentations and speeches from supporters as well as party members. Toshaos and representatives from several Amerindian Villages from Upper Mazaruni came forth and endorsed the coalition.
Bartica television producer and broadcaster, Edward Persaud, who was previously associated with the incumbent People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC), sent a recorded endorsement that was played and greeted with excitement by attendees.
Granger was the last to address the crowd which swelled to about 6000.

He took to the stage from which he told the roaring crowd of plans to make Bartica safe and to boost the economy.
The Presidential Candidate committed to ensuring that the community of Bartica gains township status under an APNU+AFC government. He said that it has been too long and Bartica, one of the oldest villages in Guyana, was one that deserved it.
The party devised plans for better health care, reliable electricity, proper roads, a modern ferry stelling, improved security, proper garbage collection and disposal, and incentives for the gold mining sector.
Granger told the crowd that he and his party have heard their cries and will act on them.
“I want to see Bartica as the capital of this region,” he said. Barticians must benefit from good infrastructure such as a state of the art stelling, good roads and street lights.
He said on May 26, 2016 the country will be 50-years-old and Bartica will be a town before that, one that would have its own Mayor. The crowd roared.  “This village is 170-years-old.”
He said that Bartica is older than Linden, Anna Regina and Corriverton and it deserved town status. He said, the “PPP is holding you back” and there needs to be a plan to move the community forward.
Granger told thousands that the coalition’s first plan is to make Bartica safe. He said that members of the Guyana Police Force need to be better paid and the Commander for ‘F’ Division needs to be living in Bartica.
“The APNU+AFC will make Bartica safe and secure. There will be no more massacres here because you will have a better police force,” he said, partly in reference to the killing of 12 persons, including three policemen, on February 17, 2008.
He said the Divisional Commander for the interior would be re-located from his city-based headquarters to Bartica. “He must pack his clothes at day clean on May 12, and get ready to relocate. He cannot run Bartica and Region Seven from Rabbit Walk (Eve Leary)…He has to be among you and know your cares and concerns,” he said.
He reiterated that other crime-fighting stimulus measures would include equipping the police with All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) and higher salaries.
He said that his second plan is to make the Bartica-Potaro Road a highway and a network of roads between Bartica and Annai would be completed and reduce dependence on the stelling and ferry service.
“You cannot develop this region without infrastructure. You can’t hide from it. Infrastructure is investment. It will pay for itself…if you want to win the riches of this region you have to provide roads,” he said.
Education was also high on the APNU+AFC agenda. “If you want to develop this region more quickly you have to solve the problem of education. Your economic plan is based on the resources you have right here,” he said.
Granger continued his crusade for improved education to increase the chances of employment rather than being exposed to human trafficking, teenage pregnancy and the harms associated with the goldfields.
The APNU+ AFC Leader stressed the importance of value-added production rather than the exportation of gold and diamond miners. “Without Bartica and the Cuyuni/Mazaruni Region, Guyana cannot move forward”, Granger said.
“Bartica is the gateway to the hinterland…If you want to develop this Region more quickly; you have to solve the problem at primary and secondary schools.”
He told the gathering “It’s not only about jobs, it’s about ensuring that all children growing up in this region get the benefit of the best possible education so that they can become entrepreneurs.”
Granger told the crowd that an APNU+AFC government will give the region agriculture and technical institutes. He also said that Bartica will be given its own stadium since “you produce some of the finest athletes.”
He emphasised that the coalition has a plan for the youths, the economy, education and security, “but for them to come to fruition we need to get rid of the PPP. Think of everything that happened over the last 23 years.”
He urged them to think of the levels of unemployment, human trafficking, the garbage situation, and several other societal plagues. “Ask yourself if you don’t deserve more. If you deserve better, vote for the coalition,” he stressed.

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