Black Immigrant Daily News

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The Health Ministry in Collaboration with the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) will host a health and wellness fair at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Friday.

Minister, Dr Frank Anthony, said several booths promoting healthy living and offering health services will be available to the public.

Caribbean Wellness Day (CWD) is a regional response to the threat posed by non-communicable diseases (NCDs), according to the Caribbean Public Health Agency.

“It’s not just about looking at exhibits, it’s also interacting with the people who would be able to explain how to embrace a healthy lifestyle, so there will be lots to learn and I’m sure people will be surprised that you can make small and simple that can result in a big difference in terms of longevity and a healthy lifestyle,” Minister Anthony said during his COVID-19 update on Monday.

On Friday, the Ministry will also sign a charter with several agencies, aimed at promoting healthier living in Guyana.

“What we are trying to do is to get more companies, more agencies, more entities understanding the concept of wellness and to get their workforce to stay well. What that means is that we want to do more of the preventative aspect, trying to prevent people from getting sick and the way that we can do that is for people to embrace a different type of lifestyle,” Dr Anthony said.

He stressed the importance of a healthy diet and reducing risk factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and the use of harmful drugs.

Exercise is also being encouraged, as this would help to keep the cardiovascular system active.

“There are several bad habits that we have, they include consumption of alcohol, consumption of cigarettes, we [don’t] eat the right foods, we have moved away from fresh healthy foods like vegetables and so forth, we eat a lot of fast food, we drink a lot of sugar-sweetened beverages, these contribute to diabetes and so forth so, these things we have to change them,” Dr Anthony said.

The annual event is geared at increasing awareness and promoting activities to address non-communicable diseases, as well as mental ill health.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Home construction for fifteen informal settlers at Annandale North, East Coast Demerara is expected to begin in the coming weeks.

This announcement was made by Minister of Housing and Water, Collin D Croal during a community meeting at the Annandale Primary School on Monday.

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall; Commander of Regional Police Division 4 ‘C’, Mr. Khali Pareshram; Director of Community Development at the Central Housing & Planning Authority (CHPA), Mr. Gladwin Charles; and several other senior government officials were also present at the meeting, which was a follow-up to a recent visit by His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali.

The fifteen families have been occupying fourteen structures on the sea defense reserve. This poses a threat to both the squatters and their community. The government has since offered low-income homes to each family.

Minister Croal noted that the inventory and house lot registration process commenced on Saturday through CHPA and urged the families to be cooperative, as the agency aims to wrap up this process in the next week.

He emphasised that the relocation will ultimately improve the quality of life for the squatters.

“You will be relocated to an environment in which you will be able to benefit from a Title for your land when you’re finished; you will be able to get the water and electricity in a legal manner and you will be able to have an environment that you want your children to be proud to occupy […] and for you to have a safe space for your family,” said the Minister.

Construction of the low-income units is expected to start in October and be completed in approximately three months.

As part of infrastructure development, the Minister stated that all roads in the area will be rehabilitated by the Ministry of Housing & Water – Central Housing and Planning Authority, Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development.

Moreover, to improve security in the community, installation of street lights at critical points will commence by Wednesday through CHPA. Commander Pareshram will also be working closely with residents to find a strategic location for a police outpost.

Through collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development and Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport, the community’s playground will also benefit from significant upgrades; and works for the improvement of the drainage and irrigation system are expected to start soon.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The Innovation Village concept within the Silica City was on Monday solidified when the Guyana Innovation Group and representatives of Dar Consultants made a presentation of the masterplan to President Dr Irfaan Ali and Cabinet.

The masterplan was presented by the team at State House. During the presentation, they explained what the Innovation Village will accomplish. For one, it will connect start-ups and business incubators to established companies, maximising their opportunities.

“According to the group, the Innovation Village will be a geographic area, located within Silica City, where digital and innovative leading-edge anchor institutions and companies cluster and connect with start-ups, business incubators and accelerators.”

“It will be physically compact, transit-accessible, technically-wired and will offer a mix use of housing, office and retail spaces,” a statement from the Office of the President explained.

Meanwhile, President Ali, in his remarks during the presentation, emphasised on the impact of the “catalytical investment”. According to the President, “the aim is to create opportunities for 2030 and beyond.”

Meanwhile, during the presentation, the President was accompanied by Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh; Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill and Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister, Oneidge Walrond.

Also present were Minister within the Housing and Water Ministry Susan Rodrigues, as well as representatives from the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission and the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest).

Last month, Rodrigues had visited the site earmarked for Silica City’s first phase development within the vicinity of Kuru Kururu on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway. On her visit, the Minister was accompanied by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Andre Ally, CHPA Chief Development Planner Germene Stewart, Director of Projects Omar Narine, Deputy Director Intakab Indarjeet, Deputy Commissioner of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) Michael Hutson, and other technical staff.

In a subsequent release, she had said that the inland city, which will complement Georgetown, is designed to address growing climate change risks.

“We are aggressively pursuing plans for the construction of Silica City [and] we are here today to advance the planning and designs for the area, so that we can bring this city to an early realisation,” the Minister had stated.She added, “Silica City will have in its first phase about 3000 acres of land, but we are starting to do the land-clearing for the first 185 acres, which will feature the ‘Innovation Village’ and the first 400 young professional homes.”

The Minister had stated that the Ministry has already begun shortlisting persons for the homes. First phase development of the city is also expected to feature a number of commercial and industrial developments, as well as hospitals. While these plans are in motion, land acquisition for phase two is also in progress through collaborative efforts with GLSC.

The establishment of Silica City was proposed in 2013 by Dr Irfaan Ali during his tenure as Minister of Housing and Water. It is in keeping with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the New Urban Agenda, the Housing Act 36:20, and other guidelines.

In his first year in office in 2020, President Ali had revealed that Government had begun discussions on Silica City as a secondary city. He had explained that the Government was looking at an area on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway that would be connected to the new four-lane bypass road.

It had previously been explained that the city will initially cater to just over 3000 households in the first five years and eventually grow to house more than 12,500 households.

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