Women’s safety targeted in planning new infrastructure

In a move to properly plan infrastructural development to cater to women’s safety, the Housing and Water Ministry through the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) hosted Women’s Safety Audit (WSA) workshops at Providence Phase 2 and Herstelling New Scheme on the East Bank Demerara (EBD).
The WSA workshop makes up a component of the Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme (AHUAP) which speaks to improving infrastructure in targeted communities to include the safety of women and girls.

Minister within the Housing and Water Ministry, Susan Rodrigues in her address to residents spoke on the importance of such engagements to the country’s developmental process. The intention, she said, is to ensure infrastructure being done in communities is functional and practical to the citizens who reside in those areas.
“That is something that influences our decisions when we choose roads to be upgraded because if we are spending Government’s money, we want to ensure that it can impact as many people as possible,” Rodrigues underscored.
While infrastructural works are earmarked for these areas under AHUAP, Minister Rodrigues said the Government has awarded contracts for the upgrading of 1100 community roads with 13 roads slated to be upgraded at Providence and 24 at Herstelling. Another 20 roads have been identified for an upgrade at Peters Hall and other existing EBD housing schemes.
The Minister told the residents, “We have taken stock already of all of the roads that are in deplorable condition and we are incorporating them into our work programme.”

The Women’s Safety Audit assesses the safety of women in public spaces from the woman’s perspective, through engagements with women and other stakeholders in areas where infrastructural works are being done under the AHUAP. The results of the workshop can influence the design of infrastructural interventions for those areas.
After the two workshops, residents were able to identify several areas of concern in their respective communities as they sought the Minister’s intervention. The issue of poorly lit streets and the lack of Police presence in the Providence area among others were raised.
Through the AHUAP initiative, $5.4 billion has been allotted through the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to execute projects in several areas across the country including the construction of core homes, and infrastructural works such as upgrading of roads and drainage systems and installation of street lights.