Mayor Rajendra Prabhulall eyes major development for Anna Regina

By Mohanlall Suelall

Leading has always been a part of Mayor Rajendra Prabhulall’s life ever since he was a child. Being the eldest child meant he led his siblings through their childhood. Being a teacher saw him leading his charges through their educational journey, and now being Mayor sees him leading the Essequibo Coast township of Anna Regina.

Mayor Prabhulall has a big vision for the township and he thinks that it is achievable through greater cooperation and the steadfast leadership he has been providing. He assumed the role of Mayor following the November 2018 Local Government Elections and ever since he has been working towards the development of the Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) town.
Anna Regina is the capital of the Pomeroon-Supenaam Region of Guyana and was once a Dutch plantation before the British took over in the 1800s. It sits on the Atlantic Coast, northwest of the mouth of the Essequibo River, 19 kilometres north of Adventure. Anna Regina was established as a town in 1970, and currently has a population of just about 15,000 people.
Prabhulall said that as Mayor, his only wish is to empower the people of the township and provide them with key services. Some of his plans include the construction of a new and modern market facility so that all vendors can ply their trade in an organised fashion. In addition, he hopes to outfit the township with proper medical facilities so that better service can be delivered to the residents of the Region as well as the interior locations.
Coming from a teaching background has instilled in Prabhulall the necessity of having sporting and recreational facilities and he hopes that the town can get a few of those.
“I want to also clear all roadside vending, get better roads and drainage system, regulate the car parks, provide training and create a more vibrant Constabulary so as to provide better security within the township. We need to work more closely with the business sector so as to provide more services and create more job opportunities,” he said.
Sharing a bit of his life with the Sunday Times Magazine, Prabhulall said that for one to achieve their goal in life, they have to start from the bottom up, have great respect for others, be honest with themselves, and give of their best to serve with pride and dignity.
Going back in time, Prabhulall related that he started his schooling at the St Laurence Anglican School in Hampton Court, Essequibo Coast where he wrote his School Leaving Exams and was successful and went on to write the then College of Preceptors (CP) exam and the General Certificate of Education (GCE) O Levels to complete secondary school.
As the eldest child, Prabhulall joined the teaching profession almost immediately out of school at the age of 17 to assist his parents. He was from a family of nine so finances were scarce and that also fuelled his drive to begin earning.
He commenced teaching in 1976 at the Fisher Primary School in Golden Fleece and had to travel over 10 miles each day to and from where he was living in Devonshire Castle with his parents and siblings. After teaching at the Fisher Primary School for four years, in 1980, young Prabhulall had no other choice but to seek transfer to the Port Kaituma Primary School because his father, who was an Agricultural Officer with the then Government, was transferred to Port Kaituma. The family had no other choice but to move.
At Port Kaituma, he was given the opportunity to teach at the secondary department where he gained more experience in the world of teaching. In 1985, the family came back home to Devonshire Castle on the Essequibo Coast, where Prabhulall decided to get married to his longtime sweetheart and best friend, Jenetta, and started his family.
He was placed at the Sparta Primary School then the St Laurence Anglican Primary School in Hampton Court, which by then had a name change and became the Hampton Court Primary School.
Now with a wife and living on his own, he had to choose between doing what he loved and earning more money to sustain the family. He chose the latter since teaching paid poorly. He took up the lucrative job of Manager of the Lima Fish Port Complex in 1992 where he worked until 1997.
In 1997, the late Regional Chairman Alli Baksh saw his ability and offered him the position of the Regional Information Officer where he worked until his retirement in 2015. He is also a pastor at the Voice of Faith Ministries, where he leads a congregation of about 200 persons.