President Dr Irfaan Ali this evening said that Lethem in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) is transforming at an unimaginable pace as he outlines a series of initiatives to come that will make doing business earlier in the township.
Addressing scores of supporters at a massive elections rally hosted by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) at Lethem, the Head of State disclosed.that among the first things that his next government will do is land regularisation throughout Lethem so that citizens there can have ownership of their land along with the documentation in their hands.
Meanwhile, with trade at the border with Brazil increasing four times, he announced plans to extend the customs services
Already, Governmentis having talks with the State of Roraima in Brazil and the Federal authorities there to have 24-hour operations and an integrated system where officers of both sides work together for “a seamless and less bureaucratic flow of traffic.”
Moreover, Ali, who is seeking a second term in office at the upcoming September 1 polls, recognised the need to address the transportation cost including fuel costs in the region.
“We’re going to work with the private sector and with our partners in Roraima to build a fuel farm, a refined product farm; and with gas coming on stream, the opportunity to have that into the market of Roraima. We’re going to establish a major facility here in Lethem that will bring down the cost of gas, bring down the cost of fuel, bring down the cost of lubricants and give you a more competitive advantage,” he stated.
With an integrated trade platform already established since under the Bharrat Jagdeo presidency, work will commence to move towards implementation.
To this end, President Ali indicated that his next administration will work to remove the current trade barriers between Lethem and the State of Roraima.
Only earlier today, the Guyanese Leader engaged with the Business community in Lethem and the Governor of the State of Roraima, Antonio Oliverio García de Almeida, to discuss trade and other activities.
According to the President during this evening’s rally, “Our truckers and truck drivers must be able to take their trucks over there and must be able to benefit equally from the opportunities that the truckers and truck drivers from Brazil are having [here].”
The Head of State added that the future in Lethem is about positioning the township as a transport and logistics area to support the expanded trade and iincreased agricultural production.
“These are all important things for this region,” he noted.
On agriculture development in Region Nine, Ali said they have started work to develop a programme that will see the increase in the livestock level by almost 5-fold. An abattoir and a cold storage facility will be built in n Lethem to support these activities.
Additionally, the plans to transform the airstrip there into a municipal airport will allow for meat produced in the region to be transported faster to Georgetown and the wider Caribbean
“We’re investing in that ecosystem to opportunities there in the village – improving the livestock there in the villages, and improving the capacity here in Lethem.”
With already a five spices initiative launched by the Jagdeo Administration in place to support villages, the next PPP government will build on this. Ali said there will be heavy focus on creating values in communities with cashew nuts. Moreover, he also detailed plans for a feed mill and creating the environment to have hay produced there – all of which will be part of efforts to build out an integrated agri system to support expansion of food production, livestock and agro-processing in Region Nine.
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