Setting a new standard for villages: President launches nationwide improvement programme

The Government on Monday launched a nationwide consultation process aimed at creating a new standard for how villages across Guyana should look and function, with the long-term goal of improving the quality of life for residents in communities throughout the country. Leonora, on the West Coast Demerara, is one of the first communities identified under the initiative. Extensive planning is in an advanced state. The community improvement will cover about 360 acres. Among the improvements planned are upgrades to roads and drainage networks, additional green spaces, decorative landscaping, better alignment of utility poles, improved street lighting, and installation of additional fire hydrants and CCTV cameras. The consultations, spearheaded by President Dr Irfaan Ali, mark the start of the government’s Model Villages initiative, which will initially focus on 23 villages before being expanded nationwide. Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal said the consultations are intended to establish a baseline for village development, identifying what communities should look like in terms of infrastructure, public spaces, recreation and overall appearance. “We have identified 23 model villages. Starting today, all of those communities will be engaged,” Croal said at the first consultation, held at the Leonora Secondary School. He explained that the initiative is about ensuring villages are well maintained, with public spaces kept to a high standard and more recreational facilities developed. The programme will involve several government agencies, including the Ministries of Public Works, Local Government and Regional Development, and Housing and Water, along with utility providers Guyana Power and Light (GPL) and Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI). The Government on Monday launched a nationwide consultation process aimed at creating a new standard for how villages across Guyana should look and function, with the long-term goal of improving the quality of life for residents in communities throughout the country. President Irfaan Ali said the programme is intended to ensure that the rapid transformation taking place in Georgetown is also reflected in villages across the country. “We want development to reach every single citizen and we want the transformation of Georgetown to also be in communities,” the President said. He stressed that achieving that goal will require cooperation between central government, regional and neighbourhood democratic councils, and residents themselves. “It requires partnership. It requires citizens and NDCs, RDCs, Government doing what is right. It requires all of us working together,” he said. According to the President, the initiative is about more than improving physical infrastructure. He said better-planned villages can create opportunities for economic growth while preserving the identity and character of communities. “It is the economic empowerment that comes with such transformation,” he said. Ali described the programme as one that will eventually reach every village in Guyana, noting that villages remain the country’s primary population centres. “The village remains the dominant human settlement. Almost three out of every four Guyanese still live in villages,” he said. “The village remains central to the life of our nation.” He added that meaningful national development cannot happen unless it reaches the village level. “If we are serious about giving people quality of life, development must reach the level of the village.” At the same time, the President cautioned against simply romanticising the past, noting that many villages historically lacked proper roads, drainage, street lighting and community facilities, while population growth has outpaced infrastructure in many areas. Instead, he said the focus is on creating well-planned communities built around three priorities: connectivity through improved physical infrastructure, rebuilding the social fabric of communities, and creating opportunities for commerce and business development. The consultations form part of the government’s broader Model Villages initiative, which seeks to create cleaner, greener, safer and more resilient communities through improved infrastructure, upgraded public amenities and greater community participation. The programme builds on ongoing transformation projects already underway across Guyana, including the model neighbourhood concept in Georgetown and investments in rehabilitating sidewalks, public spaces and other urban infrastructure in areas such as Tiger Bay and Waterloo Street.