Vice president and Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock on Friday handed over a spanking new thirty seater Coaster Bus to the Hinterland Scholarship Division located in Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara.
The handing over was witnessed by Minister within the Ministry Valerie Garrido-Lowe, Permanent Secretary Alfred King, Administrators and students.
The vehicle will benefit the more than seventy students housed at the facility and during the simple yet significant handing over, Minister Allicock underscored the importance of caring for the vehicle as it will ensure longevity and meeting the day-to-day needs of the division.
“I would like to caution you about the care of this wonderful piece of equipment, treat it like it’s really yours, treat it with care, treat it with respect and this goes for the drivers, the students and the administrators. The more we can care it, the less expensive it will be for maintenance and it would last longer and give better service. The more we can work together the better it will be for us to continue to have facilities to assist you in your dreams of becoming the best you can be”, the Minister stated.
The 30-seater Coaster Bus which was handed over to the Hinterland Scholarship Division.
The Minister also took the opportunity to encourage the students to remain focused on their studies as they thrive to becoming respectable adults, ones who will capitalize on the many opportunities here, since Guyana is poised to becoming one of the “most focused countries in the hemisphere” because of the Oil and gas Sector.
Minister Garrido-Lowe in echoing similar sentiments also informed students that this investment which is to the tune of approximately $15.6M was garnered from tax payer’s dollars so it’s imperative that “you take that into consideration and take great care of it, always keep it clean and in good working condition”.
Julius Mc Donald an astute 6th form student of Presidents College in thanking the Government, the Ministers and the Permanent Secretary for ensuring students enjoy a more comfortable mode of transportation said “the provision of this bus will defeat our transportation constraints which we have been facing for quite some time, and we promise to take good care of this bus”.
Bridging the divide between the hinterland and the coastland remain paramount on Governments agenda and as such billions of dollars are expended annually to ensure hinterland students in particular, receive equal opportunities for acquiring an education among other interests.
Soon a spanking new facility to house some one hundred and twenty Hinterland Tertiary Students will become operable make more opportunities available to the indigenous peoples.
The Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs continues to ensure budgetary provisions are in place to ensure hinterland students enjoy comfortable accommodation, transportation and other services while in Georgetown.
Since taking office in 2015 in excess of five billion dollars was expended by the Ministry alone, towards development across the Hinterland in the areas of infrastructure, sustainable economic projects, empowerment of women, youth and children and sport.
In 2019, the Ministry is poised to expend in excess of $1.9B towards further development.