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Gov’t invested over $4 billion in maintaining landfill sites—Minister Parag
Kaieteur News- The Government of Guyana has invested over $4 billion in maintaining landfill sites over a period of four years.
This was revealed by Minister of Local Government, Sonia Parag, during her review of the solid waste expenditure at an end-of-year press conference held on Thursday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.
Minister of Local Government, Sonia Parag
According to the Minister in 2024 alone, the Ministry spent $809 million to maintain landfill sites. “The landfill sites at Zorg-en-Vlygt in Region Two; Haags Bosch and Lusignan in Region Four; Blairmont in Region Five; New Amsterdam, East Canje; Rose Hall; Numbers 52 and 53 Villages; Belle Vue and Corriverton in Region Six; Nine Miles in Bartica; Lethem in Region Nine and Kara in Region Ten were all maintained…We have just awarded a contract to close the dumpsite at Mahdia Airstrip in Region Eight and develop a new landfill site,” Minister Parag added.
Other expenditure was made to have the necessary equipment such as trucks, garbage compactors and other heavy-duty machinery to maintain the sites.
Minister Parag noted too that $80.2 billion which was allocated to support health, education, and public works in the 10 administrative regions was disbursed through the Ministry of Local Government.
Of the sum allocated, we have achieved at the close of 2024, 99.8 per cent of the budgetary allocation. “Region One received $6.7 billion; Region Two- $8.1 billion; Region Three -$11. 3 billion; Region Four – $12.4 billion; Region Five – $6.3 billion; Region Six – $13.9 billion and it goes on until $80.2 billion is done expended,” she said.
It was also revealed that in the Regions, new health centres were constructed, nine rehabilitated and a number of rehabilitations pegged for this year. “There was also 19 km of new farm to market roads constructed, six new schools constructed, 21 public school rehabilitated in Region One alone.
Minister Parag also clarified that all 70 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) received their subventions, while several municipalities have already uplifted all or part of their grant or subventions for 2024.
This amounts to more than $1 billion being budgeted to support these local democratic institutions.
“The subvention allocations have increased by 117 per cent since 2020. The subventions in 2020 were $460 million and in 2024 it was $1 billion. This money was used to support the maintenance of drainage networks, bridges, rehabilitation of community buildings, minor road repairs, and the installation of streetlights among other things,” the Local Government Minister recounted.
She continued, “We consider it vital when we have a mandate to ensure there is socioeconomic activity in communities across the regions.”
Minister Parag revealed that, “Over 2.7 billion expended from 2022-2024 to improve market infrastructure, not only to rehabilitate the existing markets but to actually construct entirely new markets. New markets facilitate vending as well as community gathering in various regions. And in 2024 over $5390million was used to improve market infrastructure.”
“These include the rehabilitation of the Stabroek Market sanitary block, the rehabilitation of the Kumaka Market, the construction and rehabilitation of Parika Market and the construction of the Parika Market building which was completed in December 2024…There was also the construction of the Charity, Hydronie, Mabaruma Markets. We were able to complete the Leonora and Charity markets as well.”
(Gov’t invested over $4 billion in maintaining landfill sites—Minister Parag)
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