“Every citizen has a right to be heard” – Pres Ali invites protesters into public meeting

Demonstrating his Government’s commitment to engaging all sections of society, President Dr Irfaan Ali on Wednesday engaged a group of protestors gathered outside of one of his public meetings held in Region One (Barima-Waini).

These public meetings come weeks after the MV Barima tragedy. The vessel had capsized on July 18 while en route to Prot Kaituma, Region One, with 179 persons onboard, as well as cargo. While 76 persons survived the horrific boat accident, 73 persons have been confirmed dead, and another 30 are still missing.

The Government has since launched a Commission of Inquiry with international experts to probe the ferry accident, set up a technical audit of the local maritime sector, and roll out a series of other welfare initiatives to support the survivors and families of the victims of this tragedy.

“With our Government you can be assured of greater support. You can be assured of a listening Government. You can be assured of a Government that will continuously work towards your improvement,” President Ali emphasised during a meeting held at the Santa Rosa Secondary School in the Moruca sub-district, Region One.

In fact, this was demonstrated by the Guyanese leader at the beginning of his address, when he invited protesters to join the engagement and air their concerns. A handful of persons had gathered outside the Santa Rosa Secondary School to protest for justice following the MV Barima tragedy as well as other issues.

“As a Government, we want to listen to every citizen. Every citizen has a right to be heard with this Government – in a respectful way, in a respectful manner. So, even we have five persons outside today who may want to voice a concern, I invite them to join this meeting in a respectful manner, and they will have every opportunity to raise their concern, because this Government is always about listening to people and putting people first,” the President noted.

Similarly, persons were also protesting another meeting the Head of State had on Wednesday at Matthews Ridge, Region One. They too were invited by President Ali to participate in the public engagement.

The Guyanese leader went over to greet the protestors and assure them that their issues would be addressed.

One of the protestors, at the end of the meeting, expressed his satisfaction that his concerns for infrastructure upgrades in his community were being addressed by the Government. “The others also attended the meeting and had their concerns addressed,” President Ali said subsequently in a social media post.

Wednesday’s protest comes on the heels of similar actions taken during another Government engagement in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), on Tuesday.
Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, who led the Public Day outreach, said the protest by the combined parliamentary opposition led by United States-sanctioned and indicted Opposition leader Azruddin Mohamed was a failed attempt to disrupt the meeting, which saw residents turning out in large numbers to engage Government ministers and other senior officials.

“I heard some people were making noise in the compound. It did not distract the large [number] from what was happening here, and it didn’t deter the large number of people who showed up here today. They were hoping that people would boycott coming to this activity. They failed miserably. They failed miserably. People just ignored all that they had to say,” Jagdeo said from the Watooka Guest House in Linden.

Throughout the day, Linden residents continued to turn out in large numbers for the Public Day, where they engaged officials on matters involving housing, education, agriculture, the National Insurance Scheme, and other sectors.

But even as the Opposition had claimed that the protest would be peaceful, protesters later breached Police barricades by pulling them apart, despite present Officers’ efforts to prevent them, and moved onto the stairs of the guest house.