Govt working with NDCs to identify deteriorating community roadways

…calls out City Hall for “laidback” approach to Georgetown roads

“Engineers and my technical team engaged the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development and we went across this country, and every NDC and every municipality had to identify areas/streets of priority that need to be addressed.”
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill on Tuesday during the simple commissioning ceremony of the recently constructed Owen and McDougall Streets in Campbellville, Georgetown, lauded the fact that the Ministry has been and is continuing to go through a process of consultation in regards to getting works done. He stated that the felt needs of the people are being addressed.
Contractor of XL Engineering, Zahir Khan, who also hails from the community was contacted to complete the street.
A total of $39.5 million was spent on the completion of the newly constructed streets.
This saw to the road being widened from 11 ft to 13 ft, concrete drains being installed to the northern side of the street, along with speed bumps being put in place.
The Minister stated that within the three times he visited to check up on the works being done on the newly constructed road, he is satisfied with what he saw and commended the contractor on a job well done.
He pleaded with the residents to take care of the road.
“…don’t fall to the trap of driving on the edge of the road… or digging our own drains and leaving debris so that when the falls, the water can’t drain off the road.”
The project was completed within five months.
More than 20 roads are said to be on the verge of completion, while others have already been completed, as of now to July 31, works that were undertaken since the Irfan Ali-led Government had taken up office.
This, Minister Edghill described as a continued cycle of development in fulfilment of the 2020 budget.
He stated, “…and while we are completing a number of these roads which were financed through the 2020 budget, we have now gone out for a number of other community roads along with major roads from the 2021 budget.”
Edghill called out City Hall for their laidback approach since the Ministry has taken up the mantle of doing the works that City Hall should have done.
It was stated that a total of five contractors were engaged to do maintenance work on the roads around the city, with some $66 million being spent to do so.
“…with the last rainy season we had, a lot of roads would have deteriorated – potholes would have emerged, some small holes would have developed into craters,” the Minister expressed.
“Last December we had make a significant intervention to do drainage, desilting, clearing of the tunnels and the outfalls, just to ensure the city don’t flood.”
Some $100 million was spent to remedy those issues. The Minister stated that Central Government will not sit and play the blame game of “is the City Hall and they ain’t doing nothing” while the people of Guyana suffer. He, however, noted that, at the same time they have to come down on City Hall to “up their game”.