Cabinet team briefs Moruka residents on Beal project
PRIME Minister Sam Hinds has assured residents around the site of the proposed Beal spaceport that the project will open new economic horizons for them. He led a three-man Cabinet team deep into the Moruka sub-region in the northwest Saturday. Scores of residents turned out to a community meeting at Kumaka to listen to the Prime Minister, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr Harripersaud Nokta and Amerindian Affairs Minister, Mr Vibert De Souza. Mr Hinds, on his first full visit to that part of Moruka and the Waini, in a wide-ranging presentation explained that in the context of the government-Beal agreement and the satellite-launching investment, the team was there to discuss just "how the people of the region could make a better living". It was also about how, in working together, the government could create more development and economic opportunities for the residents of that portion of Guyana, he said. In a background to the proposed investment, Prime Minister Hinds spoke of the need for Guyana to "work in partnership with the peoples of the world". He explained the "history of suspicion" Guyanese have had for foreign rulers, including colonialists and in recent times, even overseas investors. He wondered about what some people meant by "preserving the Amerindian way-of-life", stressing that the more romantic notions should not preclude development for the economic progress and wellbeing of hinterland dwellers. While it was natural that persons must have concerns in the face of the macro-investment and project planned, all precautions have been taken in terms of environmental protection, the safety of the nearby communities and the preservation of wildlife and the world-famous Shell Beach turtles, the Prime Minister assured the meeting. Stressing that the Beal firm, under the agreement signed last month, would have no rights to mine any minerals that might be under the proposed site or to engage in logging, Mr Hinds declared that the government was still open to addressing genuine concerns before the closure of the deal. He distributed copies of the agreement to officials of the region and to a representative of the Amerindian People's Association (APA). Both at the Kumaka meeting and one convened closer to the proposed launch site at the D'Andrade residence on the Lower Waini, the Prime Minister explained how the agreement provided for the preservation of Guyana's sovereignty even though a portion of land would actually be sold; the insurance to be taken out and the crucial precautionary roles of the local Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the international consultants to be engaged to assess the impact of the project on the nearby communities. He also pledged the agreement's commitment that Region One residents - including the relatively few families of the Waini - would be the first to be employed should the project get off the ground. Nokta, declaring that he was celebrating personally, 35 years of visiting, living and involvement in the sub-region, explained the positive spin-offs the Beal investment would have for farmers, fishermen, loggers, carpenters, caterers and other workers in the area. He promised the guaranteed "prompt and adequate compensation" for any resident who would have to be relocated. Enquiries from residents, among them Terrence Edwards, Ann Gouveia, Gregory Da Silva and Maria Gonslaves, showed that the people of the Waini, while having no fundamental opposition to the project, need more information about the nature and benefits to be derived from the venture. The government team promised to provide this in frequent future briefings by Central Government and regional officials. De Souza and Barima-Waini Regional Chairman, Mr Norman Whittaker, also addressed the meetings.
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