Community issues to be tackled by Rapid Response team – President Ali
Access to electricity and pension woes at the National Insurance Scheme were among some of the early issues residents of Region Six were able to get addressed when they met with President Irfaan Ali on Friday morning. More than 100 persons gathered at the Regional Democratic Officer at Vryman’s Irving to meet with the Head of State as part of a presidential outreach. One elderly woman took her complaint about the lack of electricity, “I write Housing (Ministry) and everything, the house is not in a squatting area,” she appealed. Another resident, this time a man told the President that he has been “running” to the National Insurance Scheme since 2014 to get his brother’s pension. It was based on the intervention of the President that he was told that the pension can be uplifted next Friday.
It is complaints like these President Ali is hoping that his government’s “Rapid Response Technical Team” would be able to address in a timely manner. In brief remarks prior to meeting with the residents, Ali said that this team would include representatives of different agencies and would be chaired by the Regional Chairpersons with assistance from their deputies and REOs, “the team will be responsible for the following up of issues at the community level, ensuring things are resolved at the community level” the President said,” he are going to hold people responsible’ he promised.
Head of State also promises to ensure that government services are brought to the people, “we are not here to look at issues for two to three weeks, we are here to resolve problems,” the President pointed out.
The main aim of these exercises is to reduce the cost of doing business, he said. This morning as the President met with residents, he was flanked by representatives of several agencies including NIS, health and communities services, utilities companies and his advisors and senior technical staff.