Bartica stakeholders engaged by Minister Teixeira

Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Minister, Gail Teixeira, engaged stakeholders of Bartica,
Region Seven, on various issues affecting residents there on Tuesday.
Among those who participated in the event were Toshaos and other village leaders, business
persons and representatives from religious organisations, along with minibus, taxi and speed boat
unions. Teixeira during her interaction said that government is committed to the development of
Region Seven and to providing equal opportunities for people in every sector. She said in the
area of education, four new schools are currently under construction in Waramadong, Dagg
Point, Kurutuku and St Martain’s to ensure a better delivery of education to students in those
areas.
Minister Teixeira said Region Seven has a history of persons not moving on to secondary and
tertiary institutions after completing their primary education. This is worrying, she said, since
Guyana is developing rapidly and there will be need for locally skilled persons. She stressed that
to this end, the government will be constructing and expanding more secondary institutions.
Already, for this year, the minister said the awarding of scholarships to the University of Guyana
has moved from two to nine in Region Seven.  Two hundred persons have also enrolled into the
GOAL scholarship programme. “We need to, as a developing country within five to ten years,
produce a number of skilled people to be able to manage the new industries that are emerging…
and so, we are looking to have more persons getting those scholarships to study both locally and
overseas,” Teixeira said.
She noted that in terms of security within the region, the government will be establishing
regional support teams which will comprise ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Guyana
Defence Force (GDF), the Customs Anti Narcotic Unit (CANU), and representatives of
organisations, Amerindian Village Councils and civil society, to deal with transnational crime
and to ensure a more equipped and professional security force.

The minister promised that the Bartica District Hospital will also be modernised to provide
quality health to the residents of the region, while the government will expand its housing
programmes in Bartica. She went on to also update stakeholders on some of the national issues
that will benefit the people of the region, including the Low Carbon Development Strategy
(LCDS) 2030 launched by President, Irfaan Ali.
Teixeira reminded that Guyana is unique in that, despite mining and forestry, the country is able
to record .06 percent deforestation. This is accredited to its people, the Amerindians in particular,
who have been the custodians of the environment for thousands of years. She said that the new
oil and gas industry poses a number of challenges but has enormous opportunities, and so, the
focus will be on how to regulate the industry, while protecting the environment and benefitting
from it.
Teixeira disclosed that the tourism industry is also expanding with a number of international
hotels expressing interest in Guyana. Guyana and Barbados will be collaborating to provide the
necessary training to prepare Guyanese for the industry.  Several participants were given the

opportunity to raise issues and concerns, the most common being drainage and irrigation, roads,
lands, tourism, waste disposal security and labour.
Meanwhile, Molly Thomas, Vice Chairperson of Dagg Point Village raised the issue
of deplorable roads and the need for more consultations on projects being executed in the village.
She is also seeking the government’s intervention into their land dispute. Teixeira stressed that
there needs to be a multi-agency approach to deal with the land issue in Dagg Point. Regional
Executive Officer (REO), Kerwin Ward on the issue of the road, said the road will be included in
the 2022 budget as a priority project.
He noted that the drainage and irrigation matter is engaging the region and the Public
Infrastructure ministry.