On a recent visit to Baracara, after listening to villagers’ problems which included high unemployment, leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), David Granger encouraged them to create value-added products by agro-processing and embarking in micro-enterprises “to turn their distress into success.”
A release from the PNCR said that Granger, accompanied by three MPs – Annette Ferguson, Jennifer Wade and Winston Felix,
and Region 5 and 6 councillors, met scores of residents in Baracara, located about 80km up the Canje River.
According to the PNCR, villagers expressed concerns about frequent flooding of their farmlands causing their crops and cattle to suffer. The high cost of transportation to the coast was another preoccupation. They highlighted lack of jobs for school leavers and an unmanageable number of drop outs from the dysfunctional public education system and the fact that students attending secondary schools in New Amsterdam do not have access to a hostel, unlike those available in other areas for other riverain hinterland students.
Villagers also pointed out that there were no central electricity, telephone and pure-water supply systems and they lacked sports and leisure facilities for young persons.
According to the release, Granger said that the central government and regional administration had roles to play in alleviating the villagers’ distress.
