In the light of the rapid development of Diamond/Grove and its growing population, government is contemplating township status for the area, President Bharrat Jagdeo said last Thursday during the opening of the newly-constructed masjid in the community.

Diamond/Grove has been growing by leaps and bounds with the current administration investing more than $2B in its development, 50% of which was spent on basic infrastructure such as roads, drainage, culverts, bridges and a water supply system, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.

Diamond, East Bank Demerara, was formerly a successful sugar estate managed by the Guyana Sugar Corporation and today it adjoins Grove and has become one of the country’s largest housing areas with a population of at least 40,000 people.

The area already has the modern state-of-the-art Diamond Secondary School, the Diamond East Bank Demerara Regional hospital and a new police station.

Meanwhile, President Jagdeo disclosed that within a year three new commercial banks are expected to be established in the area.

The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) officially opened its Grove/Diamond, East Bank Demerara branch in November last year.

President Jagdeo said all the services necessary for township will be encouraged by government.
While health centres and schools are important, he said there is another deeper side of human beings that needs attention, and in that vein he commended the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) for the establishment of the masjid.

“If we don’t have a place where people can come, not just for material things but matters of the soul and spiritual things then this community would not be completed,” he was quoted as saying.

The President said the CIOG has been showing unparalleled leadership in the country in defending and promoting the rights of Muslims and expressed the hope that other religious faiths will follow the example set by the Muslim community.

CIOG President Fazeel Ferouz thanked the government for allocating land to the major religious groupings so that they can establish buildings to aid in the spiritual and moral development of the community.
Ferouz noted that the masjid is not only a place of prayer but it is the development centre for the Muslim community, a place where the poor and needy can receive assistance and where disputes are settled and plans are made for the future development of the community.

Plans are also underway to establish a multi-purpose centre for the Diamond/Grove community that will serve the educational needs of the community.

The mosque which will serve about 300 families was constructed at a cost of $16 million, and was financed by groups and individuals coordinated by the CIOG.

Also present at the ceremony was PPP General Secretary Donald Ramoutar, Minister of Labour, Manzoor Nadir and Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali, GINA concluded.