Govt Ministers greeted with protests at outreach on Essequibo Coast

Hundreds of disgruntled citizens lined the streets of Anna Regina, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) to protest the presence of Government officials who are currently holding outreaches across the country.

Regional Chairman Devanand Ramdatt was also in the protest line, after the Regional Executive Officer (REO) reportedly denied him a fuel allowance to attend the activity.
The majority of the residents questioned the timing of the outreach, pointing out that after four years in office, this is the first time such a large ministerial delegation has visited the region to offer support.
They believe Government is merely campaigning, in light of the No-confidence Motion against it and the likelihood of early elections. One rice farmer said rice is the breadbasket of the region and although many calls were made for Government to intervene to save the industry from collapsing, nothing has been done.
At Wednesday’s protest also, over 30 trench cleaners join the picketing line after they were denied payments for over three months. Like at the other outreaches so far, residents flocked the booth dealing with housing issues. Scores of persons said they left the outreach very disappointed since their housing issues could not have been fully dealt with despite waiting long hours to have their issues addressed. This led some persons to question why the Government is inviting persons to the Cabinet outreaches when they cannot address their issues.