President Dr Irfaan Ali on Monday launched a Model Village initiative aimed at transforming communities countrywide into modern, economically vibrant and socially connected spaces where citizens can live, work, and thrive. The initiative was launched with consultation sessions across several communities in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), where the President and his team unveiled renderings of how each village will be transformed under this new venture. The first engagement was held at Leonora on the West Coast of Demerara (WCD), where President Ali explained that the initiative will “eventually touch every single village in our country”. He added that it is more than the infrastructural improvements. According to President Ali, the Model Village initiative will be centred on four key pillars: connectivity, community, commerce and care.
Connectivity & community
On connectivity, he explained that “it means proper roads, bridges and culverts, reliable drainage, street lighting, pedestrian crossings, appropriate parking, designated areas for heavy-duty machinery.” “It means areas to utilise and essential services. But connectivity also means connecting the village to the wider economy. Our people should be able to move efficiently from their homes to schools, workplaces, markets and services,” President Ali added. Building a sense of community is equally important for this initiative to be successful, President Ali indicated, expressing that “you can build beautiful roads and excellent buildings and still have a poor community.” In this regard, he emphasised the importance of cultivating a culture where there is neighbourliness. “…where neighbours know each other, where people look after the elderly, where children are protected, where young people are engaged, where families in distress can receive assistance, where people volunteer, where community organisations flourish, where religious organisations contribute, where elders are respected, where people gather for recreation and celebration, and where people come together in times of difficulty,” President Ali noted. “We must restore the understanding that my neighbour’s well-being is also my concern. A village should never become a place where people live beside each other and lives, and live as strangers,” he added. To support this movement, President Ali said the Government will invest in physical spaces where neighbours can connect, such as community centres, playground, play fields, parks, recreational facilities, youth facilities and facilities for senior citizens.
“Because if we want people to interact, we must give them places in which to interact,” he posited.
Commerce & care
On commerce, the President noted that villages cannot thrive if people have to seek economic opportunities elsewhere. “We need to make our villages economically alive. This means creating space for agriculture, markets, shops, small businesses, workshops, artisans, services, light manufacturing, digital business, and other forms of entrepreneurship,” he outlined. In this regard, he emphasised the importance of zoning. “Residential areas should be protected. Economic activity should be zoned and planned. Commercial areas should be properly located. Agricultural land should be protected. Heavy equipment should have designated areas,” he noted.
“The objective is to create a village that is economically productive, while remaining a good place to live,” the President further emphasised.
On care, the Guyanese leader posited that it must encompass care for the community and its people. “Care about the person who we see becoming an alcoholic, but all of us sit back and watch them destroy themselves. Care about the persons we see sliding away, but we all look back, watch sit back in our homes, and watch them slide away without offering a hand of support, or a kind word, or a comforting word. Care about children who we see slipping away out of control, but we sit back and allow that to happen,” he explained. President Ali noted that care also extends to supporting persons with disabilities within communities.
Moreover, it also deals with caring for the physical surroundings. “Our villages should be clean, orderly, attractive, proper waste management, clean drains, maintain verges, landscaping, trees.
It must be beautiful with parks and green spaces. It must discourage indiscriminate dumping. The Government cannot do this alone. People must embrace this concept,” President Ali asserted.
Drainage, policing, noise nuisance
Additionally, the Model Village initiative will look at issues such as drainage and irrigation and the strategic placement of fire hydrants. It will also expand the Safe Country programme into villages, President Ali noted, explaining that “communities are becoming so dense and so populated and multifaceted that we have to now place a security system in the communities themselves.” “You’ll see instead of large police station buildings now, we’ll have the more containerised offices and outposts with more of the ATVs and bikes to get them to move faster. So, the interconnectivity of the security system and the police system is also going to be key and critical,” he added. The initiative will also address the issues of encumbrances on roadways and noise nuisance.
Development
President Ali emphasised that the village remains central to people and in order to ensure citizens’ quality of lives improve, the Government cannot ignore the development of the communities. “If we are serious about giving our people a quality life, we cannot ignore the development of the places where most of our people live. This is where people spend most of their time. This is where they raise their children. This is where families are formed. This is where people worship, work, socialise, grow old and ultimately build their lives. We want villages where faith is established through practice. We want the temples, the mosque, and the churches to be filled once more. Filled with children, young people, so that we can cultivate the type of values that will really take our country forward. Therefore, if development does not reach the level of the village, then development has not fully reached the people,” the Head of State reasoned. President Ali emphasised that it is important that villages do not just become places where citizens go to sleep. “We have to foster the wholesome development of our villages, and that is why we are here. The Model Village is not simply a village with newly paved roads. It is not simply villages with streetlights. It is not simply a village with a playground. Those things matter, but they’re only part of the picture. A Model Village should be a place where people can live well, work, learn, raise families, recreate, worship, build businesses, access essential services, have a great sense of security, a sense of belonging, have peace of mind, and feel that they belong,” he posited. The Model Village initiative is being spearheaded by the Local Government and Regional Development Ministry alongside the Ministry of Housing, the Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Agriculture. Public consultations on the initiative will continue throughout the week across various communities. President Ali explained that the initiative is not designed to create identical communities, noting that each village’s history, traditions and economic strengths will be preserved. As such, he noted that the consultations will allow residents to identify priority areas, including roads, drainage, lighting, recreational facilities, commercial zones and other community needs. President Ali said residents’ participation will be central to shaping the future of their communities. “We’re here to listen to you. You know where the roads are needed. You know where the drainage problems are. You know where the children play. You know where the businesses are… Tell us what works. Tell us what does not work. Tell us what should be preserved.”
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