Dear Editor,
I am not from Aishalton. I am from another community but I empathise with the people of the south Rupununi from working and spending time among them. I am also a former postman who worked in Moruca some years ago.
Before I begin, I would like to say that I could be wrong in breaking the protocol of Aishalton village by writing this letter. But I believe it’s something good to do because from previous meetings held and also making proposals to authorities, up to present nothing has materialised concerning the topic of this letter which is dealt with below.
Editor, apparently in the 1980s there was a postal agency in Aishalton that used to serve the residents of the entire South Rupununi district. Since then, for some reason that branch of the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) ceased operation in the above village. Parallel to the postal agency in Aishalton, the people used to benefit from a frequent air service by the well- known Guyana Airways Corporation (GAC) during those days.
The population of South Rupununi has increased over the years to approximately eight thousand or more and so has the number of pensioners and others receiving social benefits from the government. Data collected by the leaders from the communities gave an approximate number of 570 old age pensioners and other beneficiaries and (constantly increasing) receiving social benefits in this sub district.
During his speech on Monday the 15th of July at the inauguration ceremony of the newly built dormitory for tertiary students from the hinterland at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, his Excellency President Granger, made mention of the difficulty pensioners from Aishalton or South Rupununi usually encounter where they have to travel to Lethem to receive their monthly old age pension.
The president gave the assurance to those attending the ceremony that under his administration these sorts of difficulties faced by the people of the interior will be eliminated. He will ensure that adequate services be offered to the people to make their lives easier according to the blueprint of his government; which is for residents of the hinterland to have access to equal opportunities like their counterparts on the coast with the view of making all Guyanese enjoy the “good life” offered by his administration.
Editor, the president´s speech resuscitated a dormant plan and request by residents of the South Rupununi for government to re-establish a postal agency in Aishalton to serve their needs. Proposals were made by toshaos, elders, villagers and regional officials at various meetings in recent years; and nothing materialised and ultimately up to this day the residents of South Rupununi continue to suffer from the lack of service from a postal agency in the subdistrict. Hence, the following justifications are provided why it is pivotal for Aishalton to have a postal agency to serve the residents of South Rupununi.
1. Besides the old age pensioners and other social beneficiaries who receive monthly payments; there are students, patients and others who are in Georgetown from the South Rupununi. These people usually need money from their relatives or loved ones but often times are faced with the difficulty to receive financial assistance while in the city because there is no postal agency in Aishalton do to money transfers. The inverse situation could also be possible with a postal service in Aishalton where money transfers from residents of South Rupununi living away from home and working in the city etc can be sent to their families at home.
2. There is Digicel mobile telephone service in Aishalton which serves the population of South Rupununi. This telecommunication service can be used at the postal agency in Aishalton to do instant money transfer transactions to and from other postal agencies across Guyana and also be in contact with the general post office in Georgetown.
3. Re-establishing a postal service in Aishalton will ease the responsibilities of the toshaos in the South Rupununi, because it’s risky for them to uplift and handle a lump sum of money and other important mails from Lethem Post Office belonging to other people.
4. When old age pensioners go to Lethem on a monthly basis, they usually find it very costly because from their pension money they have to pay their transportation to go to Lethem, then pay for their boarding and lodging and upon their return to Aishalton their pension money would be exhausted. Thus, having access to a postal agency in Aishalton will ease this financial and travel difficulty for pensioners and beneficiaries of social assistance who have to travel all the way to Lethem to uplift their monthly money.
5. Having a postal service in Aishalton will provide the people of South Rupununi with important services for example: via the postal service residents can process and obtain birth, marriage and death certificates. Also have easy access to purchase postage and revenue stamps. It will also provide the traditional service to post and receive letters and parcels for the residents (Even though this type of communication system is rarely used these days).
6. Re-establishing a postal service in Aishalton will create a job opportunity for at least two persons, a senior postman or woman and his or her assistant. This job opportunity can serve very well for local persons to earn a monthly salary from the Guyana Post Office Corporation as they execute the GPOC´s work serving the population of the South Rupununi.
For the possible re-establishment of the postal service in terms of security etc, there is the room where the former postal agency used to be in the building at the sub district’s administration compound in Aishalton. The place is fairly secure and there is a paid security guard on duty all the time at the government compound.
In concluding, the residents of Aishalton and the other communities of South Rupununi acknowledge and applaud the previous government for providing them Digicel mobile phone service. They also valued the incumbent government´s initiative in establishing Radio Aishalton that provides news and information to the residents of this remote part of Guyana. In the spirit of endorsing government´s initiative in bringing services that assist the people in the interior the residents are hopeful that this administration will also re-establish a postal agency in Aishalton to serve the desperate postal needs of the people of the South Rupununi.
Yours faithfully,
Medino Abraham
