President Irfaan Ali on Friday announced that his government will establish a rapid response team in each administrative region in an effort to effectively address issues facing communities.
The President made the announcement during a meeting with residents of Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne); the meeting was held at the Regional Democratic Office in New Amsterdam.
“In every single region, we’ll be creating a rapid response team. This will comprise of representation from the different agencies, chaired by the Regional Chairman…this team will be responsible for the following up of issues at the community level and will ensure that these issues are resolved,” President Ali was quoted as saying in a press release issued by the Office of the President.
According to the press release, President Ali urged the officials and representatives from the ministries/agencies gathered to guarantee impartiality and fairness when dealing with concerns raised.
“You have to respect the people and the issues which are raised…You are not dealing with personalities, you are dealing with issues.”
The President explained to the gathering that similar outreach exercises will also be conducted in other parts of the country.
“Today we are not here to look at issues for two or three weeks, we are here to resolve problems. For the ordinary people on the ground, there will be greater connection between the people and the government and greater connection between the agencies and the people. There will be better understanding of concerns and problems that the people are facing on the ground.”
According to the Office of the President, during the outreach, President Ali personally addressed the concerns raised by residents, which ranged from access to electricity, water, land allocation concerns and drainage issues among other areas.
The Head of State charged the representatives from the various agencies to ensure that the concerns raised are dealt with in an expeditious manner.
The President also announced that the Ministry of Housing will soon commence construction of homes in the community of Williamsburg in Region Six.
Also in attendance were other Government officials including representatives from the Office of the President, the Ministry of Housing and Water, the Central Housing and Planning Authority, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Guyana Power and Light (GPL), National Insurance Scheme (NIS), National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), Lands and Survey, the Ministry of Health and the Guyana Police Force among others.
