Waiakabra residents plead for electricity, access to social services

Residents of Waiakabra on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway are complaining that they have been neglected by the APNU/AFC Administration.
Many of the residents reached out to Guyana Times and raised issues that have been affecting them for quite some time.
The residents complained of the lack of electricity, high unemployment rate and the lack of access to social services in the community.
They have been pleading with the Administration for the regularisation of land and the establishment of a nursery school for the community since the area has a high rate of nursery aged children.
The nursery school closest in proximity to Waiakabra is located at Kuru Kuru which is a far distance for the children to walk on a daily basis.
Further, residents said that most of them are unable to send their children to school because they cannot afford transportation and are also asking for assistance by way of a school feeding programme and any other public assistance available.
Residents said that during the last two Local Government Elections (LGE), Government Ministers visited the area and held meetings where they made promises to improve the livelihood of the residents but after the elections, they are still to receive another visit and none of the promises have been delivered thus far.
“Every election time them does come and promise we up. Now I see them sending AFC people again to tell we vote for them when elections come again but they can’t answer when we ask them what happen to everything they promise us,” one resident said.
The community has a growing population of more than 300 residents who depend mainly on small-scale farming as no other job opportunities are available to them.
Chairman of the Community Development Council Lloyd O’selmo when contacted by this publication said that the community has started to benefit from the Hinterland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS) programme.
This programme has seen the training of a number of youths from the community in the areas of business, entrepreneurship, agriculture, ecotourism and technology. This, he hopes, will bring about some development to the community. He said he would welcome the idea of a nursery school for the community and the regularisation of land that the residents have been calling for. O’Selmo added that a very small section of the community has electricity, however, a majority of the residents still do not have access. He said that although some efforts are being made to aid in community development, there is still a lot more to be done.
Meanwhile, Public Relations Officer of the Social Cohesion Ministry, Rehanna Ahmad when contacted by Guyana Times stated that while a visit was never made to the community, the Ministry has programmes that are geared toward sensitising communities of the roles of the Ministry. She added that the residents were also enlightened about the inclusion training which is beneficial to communities in fostering better relationships.
She advised that the community write a formal letter to the Ministry highlighting the troubles facing them and they will ensure that a visit is made to the community by relevant agencies responsible and necessary assistance will be provided in an effort of moving forward together. (Lisa Lowe)