Residents of the Lower Mazaruni are already seeing results from issues raised during President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s recent outreach to Region Seven.

Road upgrades, new heavy equipment, restored hospital power, and hundreds of new streetlights have followed in the weeks since.

Regional Executive Officer, Dr Josh Kanhai, in an interview posted on Monday evening, said the region moved quickly on the guidance of President Ali, given at community meetings in Bartica, Batavia and Karrau.

At Batavia, about two kilometres of road have been upgraded to an all-weather crusher-run surface.

“His Excellency wants everyone to have comfort and accessibility. So, the mandate was to make sure that these roads are graded, they’re in a good state and that people can access their homes easily,” Dr Kanhai said.

The president saw a need for machinery during his Bartica visit. The region received an excavator, a grader and a roller three to four weeks later. The equipment is now upgrading dams to crusher-run and grading roads in villages including Dark Point, Karrau and Agatash.

Sea defence concerns raised at Batavia are being handled by the Sea Defence Board and the Ministry of Public Works, with works scheduled for this year. Similar projects in central Bartica are expected to go to tender.

At the Bartica Regional Hospital, power problems raised during the outreach have been resolved. The Ministry of Health sent in its electrical engineer and biomedical staff to do the repairs. A repaired x-ray machine is expected to be back in service shortly, and backup units remain available in the meantime.

The region has also received 350 streetlights so far, with more expected from the Ministry of Public Works. At Karrau, an assessment for new transmission lines has been completed.

“I can safely say that before this year ends, almost 98 per cent of Lower Mazaruni districts will have streetlights and lighting available in their communities,” the REO said.

The Ministry of Education also provided more than $200 million to repair gutters, trestles, water supply, security and lighting at schools before the new term began.