Region 2 to get over $5B in investments in coming weeks – President Ali

President Dr Irfaan Ali has announced that Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) will be benefiting from more than $5 billion in investments before the end of this year.

The Head of State made this announcement during an outreach at the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) in Anna Regina on Wednesday.
During the exercise, residents were updated on major investments in the pipeline, which includes the construction of a water treatment plant, additional power generating capacity for the Region, the implementation of a $50 million road programme, the commencement of a $70 million sea defence programme, the distribution of more than 4500 cash grants, and the rehabilitation of 50 miles of drainage and irrigation infrastructure.
President Ali told Region Two residents that his Government stands committed to serving all Guyanese, in keeping with its mandate. He noted that the outreach is aimed at enhancing the delivery of service to the region and fostering collaboration among various agencies to address concerns at the community level.
Throughout the day, scores of residents were given the opportunity to raise their issues with the high-level team during the outreach exercise.

The issues residents raised with the President ranged from access to electricity, water, land allocation concerns and drainage issues among other areas. President Ali was joined by a high-level team comprising Ministers and officials from various state entities during the outreach, with whom residents were able to interact to have their issues resolved.
Representatives from the Office of the President, the Ministry of Housing and Water, the Central Housing and Planning Authority, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Guyana Power and Light (GPL), National Insurance Scheme (NIS), National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), the Ministry of Health, the Guyana Police Force, and Regional officials, among others, were present at the presidential outreach on Wednesday.
The Guyanese Leader also announced that a Rapid Response Team will be set up to address the concerns of the residents in the swiftest possible manner. He assured that there will be more such exercises as the Government will be moving forward in a spirit of collaboration and connection to the people.
The Head of State said that the main aim of his visit was to resolve many of the issues faced by residents, which he noted are “resolvable.” In this regard, he pointed to the importance of the exercise and the potential impact it will have on the lives of the beneficiaries.
Last month, the Head of State held the first Presidential Outreach in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) during which a number of issues raised by residents were addressed.
“After Region Six, residents are tremendously happy. Issues that were not resolved in years were resolved. What it tells us is that these issues are solvable, but sometimes the bureaucracy does not allow us to resolve them. That is why at these outreaches we want the head of every agency, so you can make an assessment as to what areas of improvement the agency requires,” the President told Region Two residents on Wednesday.
With Guyana expected to undergo unprecedented economic growth over the coming years, the Irfaan Ali-led administration is pushing to have investments – both local and foreign – spread to the various regions across the country.
In fact, during a visit to the Pomeroon-Supenaam Region back in October, the Head of State had posited that his Government is for all of the people of Guyana, and committed to working tirelessly to ensure that everyone is included in the national development plans of the country.
He had assured residents of investments in other critical areas apart from agriculture, such as education and Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
“There are certain growth polls that we have to identify all across the country, which will have special incentives for persons who want to invest in those areas. We know there is great potential for agriculture for export purposes. This Government will be creating those incentives to motivate investment to come to this region, so that we can create jobs, and we can create jobs and better opportunities for people. We know that the cost of electricity has inhibited growth and development, that is why we have started aggressively to work on a number of programmes. One such is the gas-to-shore project,” he had explained to the residents.
President Ali had also committed to investing resources to rehabilitate and maintain playground facilities at Leguan, Wakenaam and Suddie. He also allocated $3.5 million for the rehabilitation of the Leguan Post Office, which will significantly enhance the facility used by the pensioners there.
In Wakenaam, $3 million has been earmarked for improvements to be made to the G-Square Centre Ground, while an additional $2 million has been allocated for works along the Essequibo Coast.
“We realise that sports and physical education are an important part of community life,” the President stated.
Region Two residents were assured that the results of these initial investments would be evident before the end of the year. (G8)