Build one road, collect one fortune

May 15, 2026 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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(Kaieteur News) – There was a time in Guyana when a contractor was a man with dusty boots, a tape measure hanging from his waist, a pencil wedged between his ears and enough sunburn to qualify as roasted plantain. These days, however, a contractor is anybody with a Gmail address, a freshly registered business name, and a cousin who once mixed concrete behind a chicken pen.

The transformation has been miraculous.

One morning in a quiet village, some men were building one of them little community roads under the government’s famous “small roads initiative”. This was one of those cases where G$15 million does rain from the heavens like manna.

The workers sweating building the road were ordinary fellows. One had on a jersey saying “Real Madrid,” another was operating a Bobcat with slippers on his feet, and the supervisor was shouting measurements while balancing a Styrofoam cup of tea on a pile of crusher run.

Suddenly, a shiny Mercedes-Benz glides up to the worksite like royalty visiting the peasants.

Out stepped a young woman with sunglasses big enough to block an eclipse. She looked around cautiously, as though the smell of tar might affect her social standing. She then walked over to the supervisor and asked in a delicate voice, “Everything going okay with the road?”

The supervisor nearly swallowed his tea. He nodded nervously. “Yes miss, everything progressing.”

She gave a little approving smile, glanced at the road under construction as if examining ancient ruins, and drove away before a single grain of dust could contaminate the Mercedes upholstery.

Now, the interesting thing is that this young woman was the contractor.

Not the supervisor. Not the men digging drains. Not the engineer measuring levels. The contractor was the young lady whose closest previous interaction with construction was probably complaining about a pothole while driving to her father’s store.

Apparently, she had formed a construction company three Tuesdays ago after hearing that government issuing small road contracts easier than doubles vendors issuing credit.

And why not? For a G$15 million road contract, the mathematics was sweeter than condensed milk. Three million for the contractor who own the paper company. Three million for the actual experienced engineer doing the work. Nine million for labour, materials, diesel, machinery and transportation.

In other words, the person lifting the least cement does making the most profit. It is called entrepreneurship, Guyanese-style.

The government say the programme meant to “empower small contractors.” And indeed, it has empowered many people who previously never knew they had a passion for construction. Overnight, Guyana experienced the greatest explosion of construction expertise since the pyramids.

Hairdressers became road builders. Taxi drivers became civil engineers. A man who used to sharpen cutlasses now bidding for drainage projects. Somebody auntie who does sell pholourie suddenly registered “Universal Strategic Infrastructure Solutions Incorporated.” One family alone reportedly has more contractors than relatives.

But the real comedy started when the government invited applications for prequalification. Whoever made that announcement probably expected a few hundred applications from genuine small builders.

Instead, the country nearly had a stampede. Twelve thousand applications arrived. Twelve thousand!

For perspective, Guyana probably never had twelve thousand wheelbarrows in simultaneous operation. Yet suddenly the nation produced enough contractors to rebuild Brazil.

People who never held a hammer suddenly discovering hidden engineering ambitions. Men who can barely reverse a car now submitting proposals for reinforced concrete structures. One applicant reportedly attached a photograph of himself standing next to a pile of sand as proof of experience. Another listed “watching YouTube videos” under technical qualifications.

And naturally, everybody relatives applying too. Children. Grandchildren. Brothers-in-law. Friends. A handyman named “Boyo.” Somebody grandmother who still refers to excavators as “them big scoopers.” The thing turn into a national lottery.

Now the government, looking horrified at the monster it created, suddenly announce that it has to “pause and verify” applicants. Verify what exactly?

If twelve thousand people claim to be contractors, who going check this thing? The Ministry now facing a task so gigantic it may require another set of contractors just to investigate the contractors.

One can imagine the interviews. “Sir, what experience do you have in road construction?” “

Well, I once patched a hole in me yard with old bricks.”

“Excellent. Preliminary approval granted.”

The government now behaving like a man who invite the whole village to dinner and then realize he only had enough curry for six people.

Because the truth is the programme was launched with all the careful planning of a goat crossing the East Bank highway. Money flowing faster than systems. Contracts multiplying faster than mosquitoes after rainfall. And now the authorities trying to separate genuine builders from opportunists in a country where half the population suddenly claims to own a construction company.

The funniest part is that everybody pretending surprise.

But once people discover that you can register “Titanic Global Construction Services,” hire one engineer, subcontract the actual work, and collect millions without lifting a bag of cement, what exactly did they think would happen?

This is Guyana. If government announce tomorrow that people can earn G$2 million for professionally observing drains, by lunchtime somebody grandmother would register “Elite Drain Observation Solutions Incorporated,” complete with logo and company slogan.

And somewhere, a Mercedes-Benz would quietly pull up beside a road being built while the real workers continue sweating in the sun.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper

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• Build one road, contractor, fortune, Peeping Tom

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