Harmon, stakeholders draft development plan for Mocha

The living conditions of residents in Mocha, East Bank Demerara, are expected to improve as measures to draft a community development plan have been undertaken. Operatives of Ministries and other government agencies met with Minister of State Joseph Harmon to “discuss a multi-stakeholder approach towards the completion of a developmental plan for the Mocha/Arcadia Community”.
This meeting comes on the heels of one earlier in this month, where residents of Mocha along with their Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) chairman, complained of the many hardships which they faced. At that time, Minister Harmon promised that a meeting will be held with the aim of coordinating works where the issues affecting residents could be addressed.

Harmon speaking on the agenda for the draft community plan for Mocha, highlighted that projects should be extracted from plans catered for in the budget. The minister also noted that the community was “challenged by land distribution and land use issues”, electricity, water woes, and dilapidated roads. However, it was pointed out that the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission is currently addressing the issues associated with land distribution.
Chief Executive Officer of Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) Dr Van West Charles said a group from Barnwell, Mocha/Arcadia had approached the company some months ago and raised concerns over potable water. Dr Charles explained that the water company is currently installing new pipelines.
“We can take a close look at any resident, who is having difficulty and try to address them because we’re trying to interconnect the system so even the well at Providence would be able to supply them, shortly” the GWI CEO noted.
National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) CEO Frederick Flatts, one of the other stakeholders present, opined that the Agriculture Ministry has embarked on a “comprehensive drainage and irrigation plan” for Mocha/Arcadia since July 2015.
He noted that 18 miles of dam has been bulldosed and 20 miles of drainage cleared. Flatts commented that there are plans to utilise the Caricom Development Fund and the 2016 National Budget to commence the works from 2017.
One resident, Wilson, only name provided, said that he moved into Mocha in 1994 and that the communities north of Barnwell North and at Prosperity currently have no electricity.