Kuru Kuru residents engaged on key developmental issues by Govt Ministers

– housing, drainage and youth empowerment top agenda

One week after President Dr Irfaan Ali’s visit to Kuru Kuru along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, several Government Ministers engaged residents on Saturday to ensure that their concerns, needs and priorities are not only heard but also followed through with the necessary attention and action. The team included Minister within the Ministry of Housing, Vanessa Benn; Labour and Manpower Planning Minster, Keoma Griffith and Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister (PM) Kwame McKoy. However, residents engaged with the Ministers and representatives from various agencies on matters affecting them and their communities including housing, drainage and irrigation, lack of recreational facilities to meaningfully engage the youth and others. The Minister worked with the residents to identify solutions, address immediate needs and advance opportunities that will improve their lives and contribute to the overall development of Kuru Kuru. Officials from the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning and other Government agencies were also present, reinforcing the coordinated approach being taken to respond to the needs of residents.

During the meeting two Saturdays ago, President Dr Irfaan Ali pitched several agricultural projects that the Government intends to work on with young people and farmers along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, including shade houses, stingless bee honey production, and swine farming. Addressing the residents, Ali pointed out that many individuals have acres of farmland that are either unused or underutilised. He outlined plans to work with farmers to establish shade houses to produce high-demand crops with short turnaround times that would increase earnings. In addition, he stated that the Government, through the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) and private sector stakeholders such as the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA), would work with the residents to find markets for their products. He also informed the residents that individuals can explore cultivating exotic fruits, hybrid fruits and more local fruits such as cherry and guava that are in demand by local manufacturers such as Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL). On honey production, President Ali proposed using stingless bees, which are now being reared in Guyana. With respect to the swine project, he stated that there are plans to construct the pens with funding from the Guyana Development Bank (GDB), which offers zero-interest, collateral-free financing of up to $3 million to small and medium-sized businesses.