Bartica well underway to becoming ‘a clean, ‘green’ town’ – President

While commissioning Guyana’s first boardwalk, on Sunday at the Golden Beach in Bartica, capital town of the Cuyuni-Mazaruni Region Seven, President David Granger charged the mayors and town councils across the country to follow the lead of the town of Bartica in its pursuit of initiatives which not only promote the ‘green’ agenda, but add to the aesthetics of the environment.

Commissioning of the boardwalk — lighted by solar electricity and having a number of seating areas — drew the usual large crowd, there for the annual Bartica Easter Regatta, and President Granger said the facilities Barticians are now enjoying should be replicated across Guyana.
“Bartica is dear to my heart,” he said. “You are now a town, something that should have happened more than 100 year ago; but it is now irreversible and unchangeable, and you can look around and see the changes that the Town Council has made in two brief years.
“Mayor [Gifford] Marshall and his Deputy set out to establish a clean, ‘green’ and safe town, and they are well on their way to achieving that objective. This is a model, and I wish that every other town should emulate this example.  Most of (the other towns) are waterfronts, and this is a joy to see. Bartica is a model, and I am vindicated in making Bartica a town and giving Bartica the name, ‘a clean, ‘green’ town’,” the President said.

Mayor of Bartica, Gifford Marshall, in his remarks, said the Mayor and Town Council is working assiduously to ensure that it achieves the mandate of becoming the first ‘green’ town in Guyana and the Caribbean. Importantly, too, he said Bartica has a role to play in tourism in Guyana if it continues on its current developmental trajectory.
“Bartica can become the tourism capital of Guyana. We are working to ensure that our true potential is met. We are working to ensure that we enforce a ‘green’ agenda. We are working to ensure that there is a good life for all. Let us continue to work for the development of our town; and, most importantly, let us work for a better Guyana.
“We have unveiled our first boardwalk. Next year we will (add) an extension, and His Excellency will declare open the extension. These projects are here to show not just what we can do, but (they are) a pillar of development. It places us on the centre stage of the Caribbean and the world,” Mayor Marshall said.
Bartica resident Roxanne Jardine, in an invited comment, said that, like the Head of State, she, too, is pleased with the developmental works that have been taking place in Bartica.
“This is a great and big change for us here in Bartica; this boardwalk. We feel different. It’s less crowded and confusing out here, and cleaner; and we welcome all of the infrastructural works. This is a real change in 2018 from the time I have been living in Bartica, and I definitely look forward to seeing more changes in the near future,” she said.
Commissioning of the new boardwalk was done on the sidelines of the annual Bartica Regatta, and in referencing that event, the Head of State posited that the sport has continued to grow from year to year, with it now become a national and international event.
However, he noted that it is his desire to see the participation of the villages in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni region.
“Regatta is moving from a local festival to a global festival. I want to see more participants from all over the region all coming to make this a more massive festival. Let’s have swimming, canoeing, boat racing, and all the other water sports we have,” he suggested.
Mr. Rod Henson, Country Manager for ExxonMobil Guyana, who is in the region to partake in the festivities, said he is impressed with what he has seen so far, even as he noted that he was encouraged by friends to go to the event.
“This is my first time, but I am having a blast. It is absolutely a great environment and great people and lots of sun, so it’s a great day for racing. When I got the opportunity to come and see, my wife and I decided to come, and it is fantastic; and I wish many more people could come out and see this,” he said.
Nazir Baksh, who is visiting Bartica with his family from Canada, said that while it is his first time, he, too, is impressed with what he has seen over the weekend.
“It is my first time in Bartica. It’s really good. We are enjoying this; the seating and the accommodation, the boardwalk… We are definitely encouraged to come back,” he said.