Buxton development scheme in place
-- Government says in response to Hoyte's proposal
Guyana Chronicle
October 12, 2002
THE Government yesterday said a development scheme was in place for Buxton and stressed that efforts have been made and are continuing to be made to bring prosperity to the people of the East Coast Demerara village.
Its stand came in a detailed statement from Mr. Clinton Collymore, Minister in the Ministry of Local Government in response to a proposed plan People's National Congress Reform (PNC/R) Leader, Mr. Desmond Hoyte outlined at a public meeting in Buxton Thursday night.
"What is required is a programme of genuine social transformation that would...serve as a model for the development of other communities," the Opposition Leader said.
He outlined a $250M programme to the villagers which he promised to propose to the Government
"What is required is a socio-economic transformation plan which the Government must develop in consultation with you, in cooperation with you, to produce a well-coordinated action plan for economic and social transformation of Buxton and we're not talking about tinkering, we're not talking about filling a hole in one road and digging a lil trench here; we're talking about a total plan for rehabilitation and improvement of the entire catchment area", he said.
According to Hoyte, the objective of the plan "must be to restore your production base which has been allowed to decay; to rehabilitate and improve your basic infrastructure, to establish a sustainable programme of social services and reinvigorate the cultural life of the communities; to provide education and employment opportunities for the villagers, especially the young people, and to lift and sustain the morale of the communities by vigourously addressing your genuine grievances arising from the depressed state of the area so that your cultural, social and economic lives can be improved dramatically."
He listed specific projects under this programme, including the construction of a check sluice at Crown Dam, aback Buxton/Friendship and check sluices at Vigilance and Annandale in the central navigation canal to serve this entire area.
In his statement, Collymore said Buxton has been in the news over the past 16 months and not seven months as some are projecting.
"The vast majority of Buxtonians cannot be condemned for the criminal attacks on persons passing through their village. Buxtonians are as much the victims of the process as anyone else", he said.
Collymore said Hoyte, at the meeting, expressed strong solidarity with the village and criticised those who associate Buxton with acts of criminality.
"He is not correct in accusing others of a `gross definition' of the village. No one has done that. What has been condemned is the use being made of Buxton as a launching pad for criminal and murderous attacks, and as a safe haven for criminals", the minister said.
"What has been further condemned are the numerous attacks on Buxtonians themselves by the political `freedom fighters'. The silence of the PNC when a Buxton family was chased out of the village is reprehensible", he declared.
He suggested that the PNC/R Leader should have put forward a "constructive response" to the views expressed by Dr. David Hinds, himself a noted Buxtonian. According to Collymore, Hinds accused the PNC political elite of arming young Buxtonians and using the village as a platform for rebellion.
"The PNC/R needs to be reminded of its silence following the numerous atrocities committed on innocent persons after the last general election in 2001.
"Many persons were attacked by criminals who emerged from the village and who openly returned there. As a point of fact, the PNC/R to date has not condemned the attack on the Chester family who were forced to flee the village", the minister said.
He argued that the PNC/R has had a historical role in marginalising Buxton, stating it was under the PNC regime, "especially during the tenure of Mr. Hoyte as President, that Buxton was neglected."
"Under his administration peasant farming was abandoned. In fact, the once thriving pig industry in Buxton went into decline. Education was also neglected. The Buxton-Foulis Neighbourhood Democratic Council is controlled by the PNC. That area was under PNC local government control for decades. It is therefore quite logical for the PNC to be blamed for the marginalisation in that village. After all that party was in power for 28 years and did little for the Buxtonians", Collymore said.
He said there is a development scheme in place for Buxton, crafted by the PPP/C administration and geared to progressively improve the social and physical infrastructure of the community.
"Despite the intense hostilities of recent months, the PPP/C Government has not abandoned the village. The Army which has been deployed there to assist the Police in maintaining law and order has also been engaged in many community initiatives welcomed by the villagers themselves. These initiatives will be complemented in the days to come."
He said the Government has been implementing a development plan for Buxton, including initiatives in the table:
Year Project Cost
1997 Rehabilitation and extension of Company Path Primary School $12.0 M
1998
Rehabilitation of Buxton Primary School
$2.9M
1998
Rehabilitation and extension of water supply.
$18.7M
1998
Rehabilitation of the Buxton/Foulis Community Centre
$11.6M
1998
Rehabilitation of Buxton/Friendship Middle street
$1.2M
2001-
2002
Ministry of Public Works carried out sea defence
Works on the Buxton sea defence
$6M
2001
Drainage and irrigation works by the NDC
This catered for construction of a heavy duty bridge;
at Pond Dam; rehabilitation of Bamboo Dam Koker revetment;
digging of 90 rods of drains in Bobb Street;
digging of access drains throughout Buxton;
weeding and cleaning of trenches;
cutting of tall trees except mango trees on Buxton/Friendship
sideline dam; construction of several culverts in the village;
excavation of the main drainage canals.
$18.8M
2001
Rehabilitation of Roger Harper Street;
construction of Middle Street, Friendship;
construction of revetments at Bamboo Dam;
Wilken Street Company Path;
Rehabilitation of the Buxton Primary School,
rehabilitation of schools in the area,
repair and maintenance of roads.
$12.2M
2001
Agricultural development
$20M
2002
Construction of Buxton/Friendship Primary School
$80M
2002
Cabinet awarded contract for further sea defence Works
$25M
2002
The budget of the RDC:
This caters for significant development, including:
rehabilitation of Buxton Primary;
rehabilitation of Buxton Community High School;
Buxton Health Centre will also get a face lift;
The bridge leading to the Health Centre will be repaired;
A Practical Instruction Centre will be constructed in Buxton/
Friendship area;
Revetment will be done at company Path and Buxton main road.
2002
Road repairs in the Buxton/Foulis area
$19.3M
Apart from schools, the Ministry of Education has an ongoing programme of distribution of books and other basic teaching aids in communities throughout the country. Buxton has benefitted from this programme, the minister said.
He said that in December 2001, the sea wall at Buxton was breached at three different points. This caused some flooding in the area. The Ministry of Public Works stepped in immediately and sealed the breaches before residents could have been affected.
There is a fully operational, fully staffed Health Centre in Buxton, maintained by the Regional Democratic Council. A Senior Health Visitor is also stationed in the village with a midwife and nursing assistant. A trained doctor visits the Buxton Health Centre every week, Collymore reported.
He noted that emerging from the dialogue between President Bharrat Jagdeo and the Opposition Leader, six Joint Committees were set up. Under the Depressed Communities Needs Committee, the Government allocated $60M for four communities with each community receiving $15M. Buxton was included in the four communities.
He said those projects completed so far include:
- Desilting street drains within the community by manual labour so as to improve drainage for the benefit of approximately 15,000 residents and to provide employment for about 50 shovel men.
- Cleaning, excavating, building and shaping over 400 rods of Crown Dam.
- Providing irrigation water and access to land for over 400 farmers.
- Procuring and installing three irrigation tubes below the Crown Dam.
- Providing irrigation water in Buxton and Friendship `middle walks' and in Buxton/Friendship Company Path canal to irrigate 2,000 acres of land for farming.
- Installing 24 tube culverts within the village, to enable street drains to discharge into the main drainage canal.
- Desilting the Buxton and Friendship middle walk canals, to provide drainage and irrigation for farms stretching over two miles.
- Clearing 200 acres of virgin land, to make more land available for cultivation.
- Desilting Company Path trench between Buxton and Friendship, to facilitate transportation of farmers produce and provide drainage and irrigation for farms.
In the statement, Collymore asked, "But what about other communities? Is Buxton the only depressed area in Guyana? Does Mr. Hoyte have similar plans to develop Linden, Cane Grove, Den Amstel, Leonora?"
"Is the Guyanese nation being told by the Opposition Leader that the $250M package for Buxton is guaranteed to end the troubles in the locality? There have been numerous killings and robberies. Is he intimating that should his plan be endorsed by the Government, the PNC/R would pledge its unequivocal support for the fight against crime? Such a pledge would be warmly welcomed."
"The village of Buxton has a proud history and heritage. For this reason alone, Buxtonians should not be gullible and swallow whatever the Opposition Leader tells them", he urged.
He said Government "treats the development of each and every area in an evenhanded manner."
"The PPP/Civic Government also remains committed to engaging the representatives of the Buxton community and all other communities in genuine discussions towards advancing the development of their areas", he added.
At the Thursday night meeting, Hoyte said the Government must clear and maintain the sideline dams to prevent flooding.
"They must clear 400 acres of farmlands and build farm to market roads so you can have access to your farmlands and bring up your produce. In the field of education and training...they must construct a multi-purpose centre in the south of Buxton, beyond this embankment so that the people can have a centre for adult and continuing education, for cultural activities and community meetings and for training of young people in office.
"They must reconstruct the abandoned Bladen Hall Multilateral School so that our children can have a decent, proper place for their secondary education. And they must upgrade the six mud dams into all weather roads to provide adequate street lighting, and they must improve the existing health centre by adding a delivery room, assigned trained staff and upgrading the centre to a health centre," Hoyte outlined.
He said these are "the things they have to do if they want quiet, peace and contentment in this Buxton/Friendship area".
He said, too, that the advantage of this plan is that it can serve as a model for the development of all the marginalised and depressed communities in this country.
"I believe that given political will and good faith, this plan could be completed in 36 to 48 months and its cost should be in the vicinity of $250M spent over that period," the Opposition Leader told the gathering.