Former Mayor Pt. Ubraj Narine and Members of Parliament (MPs) Roysdale Forde S.C. and Annette Ferguson visited East Ruimveldt on Sunday. The team told Village Voice News their collaborative effort is aimed to hear from residents across Guyana and assess whether their communities are benefitting from the oil and gas wealth.
Narine said the 2024 Budget, the biggest in the nation’s history (GY$1.146 trillion), is more than enough to ensure improved quality of life for all Guyanese. As immediate past city mayor he said these visits reflect not only his continued commitment to residents of Georgetown and the people of Guyana, but also first-hand experience of how people are living in the oil rich economy. “I want to see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears the problems of homeowners and businesses.”
MP Forde said the exercise forms part of the Opposition’s responsibility to serve the people and hold the Government accountable. “We will continue these visits. Interacting with persons in the community, listening to their stories provide valuable understanding of their realities from their perspective. So, when we speak at the political, parliamentary and other levels, we do so articulating and defending the people’s concerns,” he advised.
Heartless government
Lambasting the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government’s management of the economy, Forde said he finds the deprivation of so many troubling. According to the parliamentarian, only a heartless government ignores that every citizen has a right to social and economic justice. Instead, he said, the Irfaan Ali administration derives cruel satisfaction governing a society where half the people are poor, a livable income eludes most, and the country’s health and education performances are below its Latin American and Caribbean counterparts. “We must challenge the discrimination, corruption, selfishness and absence of vision to put the Guyanese people first.”
East Ruimveldt, Constituency 13, is in South Georgetown. The area is a stronghold of the People’s National Congress Islahat (PNCR), as evidenced by past General and Regional Elections, and Local Government Elections.
Ferguson, the parliamentary representative for the area, said during the walkabout, the team heard residents’ concerns, the pain in their voices, and harrowing efforts to make ends meet. She said there is an urgent need for programmes catering to youth empowerment and deva for elderly. “These people are not lazy, without talent and untrainable, but clearly the Government is ignoring them.”
The parliamentarian expressed concern that the elderly are deprived of the opportunity to live their golden years with economic pride. “The pension is insufficient and cannot even buy a proper basket of goods for two weeks, and I am not talking about purchasing their blood pressure and diabetes medications.”
Addressing the issue of road construction, Narine flayed the Government for ignoring drainage and irrigation, putting residents and businesses at risk for property damage due to flooding. Georgetown is below sea level. The drainage infrastructure inherited from the Dutch, who understands water/irrigation management, has seen failure on the government’s part to maintain the system. As part of the Government’s beautification of Georgetown, a plan stolen from the Narine-led City Council, Central Government has been narrowing the drainage and, in some instances, filling them.
Discrimination
The leaders said during their engagement numerous complaints were raised by residents. Residents stated they have applied for house lots more than two decades ago and are yet to hear from the Central Housing and Planning Authority. Problems with drainage, inadequate streetlights, poor roads, and other neglect of the community were raised, the team said. The Opposition has repeatedly complained of communities being ignored by the Government merely because of the people’s political choice, a basic right that is protected in Guyana’s constitution.
Dissatisfaction with the management of the oil and gas resources was another issue raised. The team said residents cited instances of contracts going to those aligned with the Government and their friends. Reportedly persons not living in East Ruimveldt would benefit from contracts to do work in the community, bypassing others within the community that could do the same work.
Ferguson, a former minister in the A Partnership of National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) government, told this publication that without the benefit of oil revenue the coalition was able to address pressing issues through the City Council and Ministry of Public Infrastructure. Guyana is ranked the world fastest growing economy. In 2024 the country’s revenue from oil and gas is projected at US$ 2.4 Billion, up from US$1.62 Billion in 2023.
The team shared with residents what the Opposition has been doing and assured them that as their representatives issues affecting them will be highlighted and drawn to Government’s attention for remedial actions.