Public consultations on model villages begin; Proper zoning among issues raised

President Irfaan Ali has commenced public consultations on model villages across the country. It is an initiative that seeks to create better communities with enhanced roads, drainage, irrigation systems and green spaces and ensure social and economic development for residents. The consultations which kicked off at the Leonora primary school in Region 3 this morning are intended to provide residents with an opportunity to participate in discussions on the proposed developments within their communities. According to the President, the initiative is to ensure wholesome villages while maintaining their traditional identity. Ultimately, he said, the goal is to ensure that national prosperity is converted into community prosperity “So, we have to ensure that the village infrastructure, the village culture, the village identity and the village values are not reshaped in this rapid transformation. The village must therefore not simply be a place where people live, the village must be an eco-system, an economic eco system, it produces food, it produces skills, it produces businesses and industries,” the President said. The President noted that the Guyana Development Bank will further create opportunities for villages, and will ensure that the villages are connected to the wider economy. He noted that the villages have also faced some challenges such as flooding, and infrastructure and drainage issues, and the proposed model village will seek to holistically address those issues. “The village must once again become a place where people can not only live but live adequately and this particularly important for our young people who would want to build their future not leave for an opportunity. That is the country we want to build where growth centres and opportunity centres are built all across the country,” the President stated. He said in the model, residential areas should be properly protected, while economic activities should be zoned and planned and commercial areas should be properly located and while agriculture land should be protected. The objective is to create a village that is economically productive and a good place to live, the President noted. “A model village does not mean a standardized village, we do not want to take one village and reproduce it across Guyana, every community has its own history and its own tradition we want to celebrate that, it has its own economic base, its own physical characteristics, strengths and its own challenges. The objective therefore is to make every village not identical but identical in the desire to live,” the President noted. The President said the government cannot do it alone and wants persons to come on board to help shape their communities.