-led by VP Jagdeo, ministers
Hundreds of residents from across Region Two, despite harsh weather conditions, turned out on Tuesday to engage government ministers, technical officers and state agencies during a public outreach led by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo at the Essequibo Technical Institute at Anna Regina.
The outreach, which forms part of a wider series of government public-day engagements, saw citizens raising issues related to housing, agriculture, land matters, infrastructure, healthcare, water access and social services, many of which were addressed directly during the exercise.
Senior Minister within the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, described the initiative as another successful effort by the government to maintain direct engagement with citizens.
He noted that the exercise followed a similar outreach recently held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre in Georgetown, which also attracted hundreds of people seeking assistance from government agencies.
“This is the second in rapid succession, the second instalment of the rollout of this series of Open Day engagements between the Vice President, members of the Cabinet, government agencies and other officials,” he said.
According to Minister Singh, the initiative reflects the governing philosophy of President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration, which he said, prioritises maintaining a close connection with citizens across the country.
“Being of service to people, and delivering services directly to them by stripping away bureaucratic layers and intermediate processes, allows the government to address concerns more efficiently,” Minister Singh stated, additionally those whose issues required further investigation were assured that their concerns would be examined with a view to resolution.
Meanwhile, Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Sarah Browne, said the outreach provided an important opportunity for Indigenous communities in Region Two to engage directly with government officials.
She noted that village leaders and councillors met with Vice President Jagdeo to discuss concerns affecting Indigenous villages and possible solutions ahead of the upcoming National Toshaos Council (NTC) Conference.
Among the issues raised were education, healthcare, security, road networks, water access, infrastructure and village land demarcation matters.
“While they acknowledged that a lot was done, they pointed out the need for additional interventions in several areas,” the minister explained.
Additionally, Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud said relatively few matters related to her ministry were raised during the outreach, but those presented received immediate attention.
“What I saw with regard to the Ministry of Human Services is that we did not have many issues brought to us, but the matters that came warranted attention. We had the entire team present and we were able to deal with the issues on the spot,” Minister Persaud stated.
She highlighted one instance in which an elderly woman who required a wheelchair received assistance immediately during the outreach.
Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha also hailed the outreach as successful, noting that more than 100 persons engaged officials from his ministry alone.
He said many agricultural concerns were dealt with immediately and noted that the large turnout demonstrated citizens’ desire to engage directly with senior government officials and decision-makers.
“People want immediate action and this shows also that they want to engage not only officers, but directly with the decision-makers,” Minister Mustapha said.
He added that the outreaches are strengthening community involvement while improving access to government services and the timely resolution of public concerns.
The outreach forms part of the government’s ongoing efforts to engage citizens directly and improve the delivery of public services across the country.