Govt awards $127M in contracts to East, West Ruimveldt residents

– 10 women among awardees

A total of 27 contracts totalling $127 million were awarded to residents of East and West Ruimveldt, Georgetown for major community development works.
The contracts were inked in the presence of the Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar and the Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy.
The projects were awarded to a diverse group of people, including 10 women, middle-aged individuals, youths, and men.
The contacts included the construction of concrete walkways, culverts, bridges, and cul-de-sacs, as well as the cleaning and desilting of community drains, among others.

Guyana Times understands that the provision of contracts to residents is a result of a recent commitment made by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, to empower villagers, particularly the youth, to utilise their time productively while contributing to the enhancement of their community.
In an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI), contractors expressed gratitude to the Guyana Government for providing them with the opportunity to contribute effectively to Guyana’s infrastructural development.
Contractor Tiffany Greenidge explained that the contracts would not only generate employment but also enable her to support her family financially.
“I am a part of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) in Laing Avenue and I am always helpful in the area… I must say that I am very proud of being a contractor. As a single parent with four kids… I must say thanks to the Vice President,” Greenidge stated.
Lazeena Joseph, a young resident, expressed her happiness in contributing to her village’s development. She emphasised the significance of addressing the recurring issue of flooding caused by clogged drains in the area.
“I am very excited and at the same time really emotional, because this is a milestone for me to be awarded this contract. It shows how committed the Government is to making peoples’ lives better. I am so happy to be helping my community by fixing the roads and cleaning the drains that oftentimes cause flooding in the area,” the youth shared.

Meanwhile, Roynell Berkley, one of the male contractors, stressed the importance of enabling individuals in the community to willingly contribute to the enhancement of their villages.
On this point, he urged all his fellow contractors to execute quality work and make the community proud.
“It’s very nice that the Government is giving contracts to the people in the area…We need good work and proper work done. We don’t need no faulty work in the area, then people have to complain and make it bad for contractors in the area,” Berkley stated.
During his address, Minister Indar underscored the significance of these contracts, emphasising that they were part of the Government’s efforts to work alongside residents to build their communities.
While urging the contractors to execute their work professionally so that taxpayers could have value for money, the Minister said the projects would also build residents’ capacity to execute other works in the country.
“We are fulfilling a commitment made by the Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo when he came here on the 19th of February…we are here again and between that time to now the engineers came and did the assessment of the area, they made the Bill of Quantity and they came up with about 27 contracts or what we call lots,” the Minister posited.
“This, on the other hand, is what you call community participation projects… so you will do it to quality, you will do it, so you can be remembered and you will do it, so you can develop from it…When it comes to employment… it is better for you to employ people from right in the community,” Minister Indar encouraged.
Meanwhile, Minister McCoy underscored the importance of women’s participation in the expansion of Guyana’s infrastructure, and on this point, he congratulated the women for stepping out of their comfort zones and actively participating in the country’s development efforts.
“It must be celebrated, because it means that we are in keeping with the international objectives and goals that Guyana is making strides when it comes to women’s empowerment and women’s development. And almost everywhere you go in Guyana, you can see women leading the charge and carrying out mandates and coming out of traditional roles,” Minister McCoy expressed.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Public Works’ Force Account Unit embarked on a project to rehabilitate 45 roads in East and West Ruimveldt, as well as six roads in Alexander Village in keeping with promises made by the Vice President at outreaches in the community.
Works in Alexander Village have so far been completed by the Special Projects Unit, while construction on 26 roads in East Ruimveldt and 13 in West Ruimveldt is ongoing.