Kaikan will not be left out of Guyana’s development agenda – President Ali

– unveils new signboard at Kaikan Primary School

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Friday assured residents of the border community of Kaikan in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) that they will be included in the developmental plans for the country aimed at improving the lives of all Guyanese.
The Head of State was at the time addressing scores of residents and ranks of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) at a gathering in Kaikan, which borders neighbouring Venezuela.

“Today, I’m here to visit not only our soldiers, but importantly to visit this beautiful village and interact with its residents. I’m here to learn more from you about your challenges and to share with you some of our plans, geared to improving our lives and ensuring that we build a better future for all Guyanese, including you and this village,” he stated.

Among the plans the President revealed was the implementation of education programmes, ICT and technical vocational training and improved access to healthcare services.
“We will be expanding our services to all the regions in Guyana to ensure that young people have equal access to not only primary and secondary education, but importantly also for those who want to pursue university education and technical education,” the Head of State noted.
President Ali informed the residents of the implementation of a new nutrition programme to further address the needs of children, particularly in riverine communities.
“To our children, I want you to know that in our programme, we have restored the uniform grant, especially to children in the hinterland and riverine communities. But importantly, in our next budget, we are addressing nutrition programmes, nutritional needs to ensure that when our children go to school they will have the right meals. And your village, of course, will not be excluded from this programme,” he posited.
President Ali went on to say too that Government will be seeking to enhance community involvement in national and regional development. To this end, he announced that they will also be engaging with Toshaos and Town Councils in developing and formulating livelihood and social programmes to better serve the needs and priorities of communities.
“It is important that communities themselves identify what their priorities are. I want to assure you that the Government and the Cabinet will be reaching out to these communities, to your community in a continuous basis,” the President said.
He also assured the members of the Guyana Defence Force that they will play a major role in the process, which will transform the way in which they engage the community and in so doing, they will become more sensitive to community development.
The President also said that the National Security Advisor along with a team will return to the community at a later date to interact with residents and to gauge ways in which they can enhance the relationship and involve the communities themselves in training and development.
One of the ways identified is through the establishment of border patrol groups which will be responsible for the protection of the community. Residents are to be permanently engaged through this mechanism.
“I want to assure you before I close, that my Government intends to win your trust, my Government intends to work closely with all of you to ensure that no family, no community, is left out from the development and advancement of our country regardless of where those communities are,” the President noted.
Moreover, the Head of State lauded the residents for adhering to the COVID-19 protocols by wearing their masks. The President also urged them to reflect on the challenges of the past year and assured them that the coming year would be better.
“Next year will be filled with improved livelihood options, improved development, but more importantly, it will be a new year that is filled with the hope that all of us, including myself, including the Army Chiefs, including the men and women, for all of us, we will be better Guyanese.”
Village Toshao Marlon Williams expressed gratitude to the President and his team for their visit.
Following the official welcoming ceremony, President Ali and his team distributed 100 relief hampers to residents and almost the same amount to children in the community.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces then attended the Christmas Lunch with GDF ranks stationed at the border community.
As part of his visit, President Ali also joined residents to unveil a new signboard, which was constructed by the GDF ranks stationed in the community.
The Head of State commended the army for the initiative and pointed to the gesture as a sign of strengthened community involvement.
“Let me say how very pleased I am with our soldiers, men and women in uniform and the leadership of the army for this initiative. This is what we’ve been talking about; great involvement in the community, greater participation, building your new relationship and solidifying those relationships,” the Head of State noted.
The Kaikan Primary School was completely redone by the army ranks, who also installed the solar system powering the school. The building currently houses 70 children from both the primary and the nursery levels.