The light of progress shall shine brighter in 2017

Jan 01, 2017 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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The Alliance for Change (AFC) welcomes this New Year with open arms.  All of our members, executives and Ministers are in ready-mode to put into effect all of the plans, projects and programmes that have been approved.

Prime Minister, First VP and Leader of the (parliamentary) House, Moses Veerasammy Nagamootoo, takes this opportunity to give to every Guyanese, whether they live in Guyana or in the diaspora, the AFC Party’s strongest commitment to make 2017 a year that will be full of firsts, a year that will set in motion the large number of projects from which Guyanese will benefit tremendously.

AGRICULTURE

The agriculture sector will see transformed production in every sub-sector as the Ministry and all its satellite agencies launch the progammes for crop diversification, for a more modern drainage and irrigation system, for more focused research and development of existing crops, and the introduction of new species and hybrids.  Agriculture is also about top notch marketing.  This means training our Agricultural marketers at the GMC and Regional offices to move our farmers’ produce from the stellings at Parika, Mahaica, Stabroek and even Bartica to distributors outside of Guyana – Aruba, Barbados, the Bahamas and as far away as Europe.

SECURITY

This is also the year when the full force of the modern high-tech Citizens Security Strengthening Programme (CSSP) is implemented to minimize crime rates and initiate sensible citizen protection programmes.  Special emphasis will be placed on East and West Berbice and the gold mining interior districts.   The Guyana Prison Service, the Police Complaints Authority, the Guyana Fire Service and CANU are all integrated into this concerted approach to community crime and violence prevention, crime investigation, rehabilitation and social re-integration of offenders, and of course, personnel training.

The public service that will remain priority number one is installation of new equipment, conducting specialist training, and integration of all aspects of emergency services into a well functioning ICT-encrusted 911 System.  These include the police force, fire service and hospitals.

The CSSP is working in collaboration with the E-Government Unit to activate the project to reduce crime through technology, e.g. cameras in squad cars, establishment of a Command Center to monitor the approx. 300 CCTV cameras to be installed in the first phase, and to coordinate police responses to reports.

BUSINESS/TOURISM 

Guyana’s tourism product is so uniquely different, holding so much potential that it will be unforgivable to not share it with the world.  For Tourism to make the kind of financial impact that it could, Guyana still needs large scale investments in the sector.  We are working towards integrating tourism as a permanent Agenda item in all 10 Administrative Regions. This has the potential to resolve unemployment in the regions.

The National Tourism Policy (soon to be in place) has an element for the impending oil and gas sector.  It is expected to provide a wider range of economic activities to make way for an incursion of foreign currency into the economy.

INFRASTRUCTURE 

The best sign of modernity in any society is its infrastructure.  Our work programme for 2017 is long and ambitious and completely do-able.  A new airstrip will be constructed at Aramata, Cuyuni, Region 7, and work will begin on several modern bridges and overhead passes in and out of the city.  Guyana’s long term energy plan to transition to renewable energy will be presented to both Cabinet and the public in Q1 2017. This is in keeping with our ‘green’ development agenda.

Our proposal is to utilise a mix starting with less risky options such as solar and wind.  The ultimate goal is to power our nation with the widest possible scope of clean, alternative energy and promote energy efficiency in households.   One of the lowest hanging fruits is a large scale solar farm in Mabaruma with smaller solar facilities at Lethem, Mahdia and Bartica.

INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

Residents of several hinterland communities will receive training and material support from the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs to develop enterprises around Guyana’s semi-precious stones. The array of stones is wide and they can be used for a variety of purposes including jewellery, coffee table tops and clocks.

In Region 8 alone, there is an estimated 15 million tonnes of jasper.  In other areas there are agate, black pearl, green quartz and amethyst.  The proposal will be ready for public viewing after the Ministry secures funding.

PREPARING FOR OIL & GAS

The Ministry of Natural Resources has crafted a Petroleum Commission Bill that is the precursor to an onshore oil and gas facility in Guyana. This critical facility is a part of the raft of measures to ensure that Guyana stays on the right trajectory.  The Petroleum Commission will serve as the logistics and supply base.

Onshore facilities normally include shipyard, port facilities, oil field waste disposal, oil spill response equipment, electricity infrastructure, Heliport, and (oil rig) platform fabrication support.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS 

The year just ended was a watershed year for this new ministry that came into being in January 2016.  An unprecedented number of accomplishments were recorded in eight months:

• Secondary schools are now connected to the worldwide web
• Teachers have received laptop computers
• Far-flung communities now have internet connected computers in their centres
• Nearly every Ministry and key agencies is already internet-ready

There’s much more to be done without missing a beat.  The e-Government/national fibre optic network will be expanded during this year to Diamond, Timehri and Amelia’s Ward, and six hinterland and remote sites are connected to a circuit network from Digicel. Those sites are located in Linden, Bartica, Mahdia, Port Kaituma, Mabaruma and Kwakwani.

The Centre of Excellence in Information Technology (CEIT) will be opened in February.  It is a collaborative initiative between the Governments of Guyana and India and the latter has committed to providing hard and software and technical skills for the training programmes.

This new year promises to be an exciting one. Come join us as we take Guyana to new heights.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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