Region Six engaging residents on development

The East Berbice-Corentyne (Region Six) Regional Democratic Council (RDC) is taking a people-centred approach to realising its development goals.

Regional Executive Officer (REO) Mr. Navendra Persaud said the administration, since August 2020, has been engaging residents, as it found that major issues had been neglected over the last five years.

“We have had an open-door policy where people would have been coming on a daily basis to meet myself and the Regional Chairman to discuss their issues. People were out of jobs, even the contractors were unable to have jobs,” he told DPI in a recent interview.

Mr. Persaud said the administration made a decision to be inclusive so that the Region could advance.  “From day one I said the REO will not run the Region by himself. We have engagements and a team effort with the Chairman, Vice Chairman and programme heads.”

The Region was allocated some $1.71 billion in the 2020 emergency budget, which the REO noted, has already been spent.  From that amount, $131 million was allocated to the Health sector, $122.6 million for Education, $107 million for Public Works, $50 million for Agriculture and some $18.8 million for the regional administration.

The REO also said a “large sum” was spent in the fight against COVID-19, particularly for the return of senior students to the classroom in November. The Region also facilitated the construction of some 40 washrooms and maintenance works in schools to cater for the reopening.

Projects undertaken in the health sector include the construction of a care and treatment centre at the Port Mourant Hospital and the rehabilitation of the kitchen at the National Psychiatric Hospital. The Region has also started the construction of a maternity ward at the New Amsterdam Hospital. This project should be completed by the end of this year.

Additionally, investments were made to erect Covid units at the Rose Hall and Skeldon estates to curb transmission of the disease.

Mr. Persaud said several roads across the Region were derelict so the RDC engaged Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) to fix them. The Region also benefited from support from the Ministry of Public Works on some road works.

The REO said there are still many roads, canals and sluices to be fixed. Those, he said, would be given priority in the 2021 budget.