“Totally outrageous”– Pres Ali blasts Region 6 officials over slow pace of work

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Saturday condemned several senior officials over their inability to promptly address a number of issues that are affecting residents of Mara, on the East Bank of Berbice.
He was at the time engaged in a cabinet outreach in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
The Mara residents had raised concerns about drainage issues and the pace of construction of the community’s main access road.
“I am disappointed with the engineer coming to communities (and) not preparing any report, not following up on anything. The areas with gaps we have to fill. We are paying people, and we’re not going to tolerate the lack of care and concern for the community,” Ali said.
“The cabinet is in the field every single day. We’re making the resources available. In a small society like ours, we can’t have little gods all over the place,” Ali added.
President Ali also expressed disapproval at the system governing the payment of old age pensions, with residents having to travel all the way to New Amsterdam to collect their pensions despite a directive having been given for the money to be paid right in the community.
“That’s a cabinet directive, so somebody has to answer some questions. And I’m disappointed with the Regional Executive Officer (REO), because he knows of the policy and he never reported to the Minister that the pension is not paid in the community,” Ali said.
During the outreach, Ali indicated that five acres of state land will be cleared for farming activities – a move that would benefit some 70 farmers in the East Bank Berbice area.
Meanwhile, the President committed to fixing transportation challenges for the 16 children attending school in New Amsterdam, aiming to find a solution before the end of next week.
He also expressed plans to start work on a new well and canal before the end of the year, expected to greatly benefit the community.
Going forward, the Head of State said a new approach would be taken with the involvement of residents, especially in road construction projects.
“We’re not here to hide any issue, or misrepresent any issue. This is what good governance is. We promised you that we will come to listen to you and make decisions in your interest, and that is what we’re doing.” he declared.
President Ali and his Cabinet Ministers, including Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall; and Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Charles Ramson, are on a two-day outreach in Region Six, during which they are slated to engage residents from a number of communities, and visit several major project sites.
The leaders also engaged residents of Rose Hall, Port Mourant and Manchester on Saturday.