The Region One administration has committed to assist Tobago Hill to develop the community’s fish farm, which has been floundering almost from the start.
The project, deemed “successful” by Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai last month, is set to be restarted soon and Toshao Edmund Santiago told Stabroek News yesterday that the RegionOne Vice-Chairman and other regional officials contacted the Village Council and promised assistance.
Santiago said that Vice-Chairman Fermin Singh indicated that the region will assist the village with fuel supplies for the journey to the Shell Beach area where the village will source the fish. “The VC said he will keep in contact with me on it,” Santiago noted, adding that the community is grateful for the assistance. According to him, in the coming weeks the villagers will travel to the beach to source the fish.
This newspaper also understands that last week the region’s Community Development Officer (CDO) visited Tobago Hill to assess the project and Santiago disclosed that the officer will be visiting the community in the coming weeks to ensure that the project materialises.
The community was expected to undertake the small scale rearing of the hassar to finance the community’s welfare and development.
Minister Sukhai had commended residents for their hard work in preparing the fish ponds and caring and growing the fingerlings. She said that the Tobago Hill community would soon reap the first harvest of hassar reared under the National Secure Livelihoods Project (NSLP). However, the community immediately disputed her statement and Stabroek News visited to find fish ponds that were filled with weeds.
Santiago told Stabroek News during the visit that the project, which started in 2009 under the NSLP, was incomplete as the ponds had to be redesigned after initial construction. The community was being assisted by a Filipino VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) officer and was touted as a model for Amerindian communities.
The Amerindian Affairs Ministry has indicated that there were inconsistencies in the reports carried about the state of the hassar-rearing project by this newspaper but to date has remained silent on the issue.
The Ministry had promised a detailed statement on the project following a March 25th, 2012 Stabroek News exposé but nothing has been forthcoming.
Tobago Hill, because of its remoteness, had been occupied by few persons prior to 2000.
However, several years ago, the authorities collaborated with a non-governmental organisation to construct homes at Tobago Hill in order to relocate close to 300 residents then living along the eroding shores of the Aruka River. However, since its establishment, the community’s population has decreased within the past two years.
Given the problems experienced with the project, questions have also been raised about the decision to expend millions.
The fish-rearing was part of an $88M scheme.
