Govt. pumps $210M into several community projects

Jun 07, 2018 News

Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan (centre) with contractors and representatives of various communities.

The Government has signed off on an injection of $210M, through nine contracts which will be spread across several communities in Guyana.
The contracts were signed yesterday with contractors in the Ministry of Communities’ compound in Kingston.
Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan emphasised that the priority areas in these sectors were identified by the regions themselves through a visionary and consultative process.
“These projects will result in direct benefits across six of our management regions and four sectors of development. It is a testament to the government’s commitment to develop communities countrywide by providing better healthcare services, educational facilities, transport infrastructure, and to enhance regional management facilities,” Bulkan stated.
The Minister stated that the contracts were awarded through a public procurement process.
Contracts to be executed include Schoonord, Strathspey and North Vryheid nursery schools, Kamarang Primary School, health centres at Amelia’s Ward, the Doctor’s Quarters in New Amsterdam, the Regional Administration Annex building in Lethem and the rehabilitation of Ballfield Road in Wismar.
Minister Bulkan told the contractors that the money being spent equates to approximately US$1M and is not to be sneezed at. He disclosed that the contractors will be monitored and assessed during the process. The contracts will be overseen by the respective Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) and municipalities.
Following the signing, the Minister denied dictating to the local organs how they should operate. He stated that the Government is committed to respecting the independent authority and autonomy of all local democratic organs.
“We are committed to partnering and collaborating for the restoration and rehabilitation of the damaged system of local government that we inherited. That is the programme; that is the agenda of this Ministry and that is what we have been pursuing,” Bulkan stated.
Defending the provision of direct funding and the involvement of the Ministry in the contracting signing process, the Minister noted that the laws provide that finances to fund the work of the NDCs and municipalities have to be centrally generated.
“They do not generate from central Government, but central government does provide financial resources. That is the process we are working with our organs to bring about,” Bulkan stated.

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