Four contracts were signed last Friday at the Ministry of Finance for the construction of Belle West Housing Scheme Primary School in Region Three, Bath Settle-ment Nursery School in Region Five and the rehabilitation of South/East Triumph roads in Region Four and Resource Street, Miss Phoebe in Region Six.
The four contracts come under the Basic Needs Trust Fund and signing on behalf of government was BNTF’s Project Manager Michael Singh in the presence of Finance Secretary Neermal Rekha, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported yesterday.
The schools which are expected to benefit about 475 children will house classrooms, head teacher’s offices, staffroom, storeroom and kitchen with toilet area and trestle with water storage tanks.
GINA said that at Belle West Housing Scheme a two-storey reinforced concrete structure will be constructed at a cost of some $48.4M over eight months and a one-storey reinforced concrete structure is to be built at Bath Settlement at $25.5M over a seven-month period.
Meanwhile, the roads which are expected to benefit more than 1,900 residents will be built at a cost of more than $16.7M. This 12-week project will entail the resurfacing of all weather roads with double bituminous surface treatment (DBST) inclusive of sand sealing. This project is being financed by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the government of Guyana, and is being executed through the BNTF, a poverty alleviation programme.
Following the signing ceremony, Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh told GINA in an invited comment that the projects that would be financed and constructed under these contracts represent yet another manifestation of government’s commitment to investing in social infrastructure and in ensuring that the Guyanese people have access to social services.
The BNTF has been in existence since February 16, 1993 engaging and providing infrastructure, and skills training and reaching out to the poor.
Guyana on February 22, 2002 signed a grant fund agreement of US$6, 265,000 with the CDB for the BNTF Five programme, and an additional grant of over US$4M was received on June 13, 2003 from CIDA through CDB, GINA stated.
It said further that a mid-term evaluation was concluded in 2007 and the BNTF-Guyana did exceptionally well in comparison to the other Borrow Member Countries (BMCs) in executing and implementing sub-projects and it subsequently received a mid-term bonus of over US$2M.
A grant agreement for the BNTF Six was signed on March 30, 2009 for an amount not exceeding US$6M to undertake more infrastructural work. The government’s contribution towards this programme would be in excess of US$2M.
Guyana has since satisfied all the conditions precedent for the first disbursement and several sub-projects are in the designing stage, GINA added.
As part of the programme, two agreements totaling $107M for the construction of wells for water improvement systems in the Lusignan and Diamond Housing Scheme areas were signed last Wednesday.
The systems when completed are expected to significantly improve the water systems in the areas and are expected to benefit some 10,000 residents.
Wow all of a sudden the poo poo poo has woken up from their 17 year slumber hahahahhaahahah this is amazing.
What about the economy and jobs though?
You gonna continue buying and borrowing your way into the hearts of guyanese or actually deliver something meaningful?
The 2011 election campain is on the move Brandon.
Election time–every propaganda is saved up for this occassion . It started with a big multi-religious gathering in Berbice to bring all PPPites(mainly women) back to the fold.
The same promises will pop up again—like phone lines for West Berbice—jobs, roads, Drainage and irrigation and schools—they will promise everything—but we will still be without water, elecricity, security and education will teaching student to fetch water as seen at President College.
With elections due in 2011, the PPP administration like the former undemocratic PNC regime, will be creating a lot of ‘optical illusions’- with the announcements of lofty and grand schemes, which will not be done.
Significant numbers of the Amerindian women, have been lured away from the interior areas, by unscrupulous Rum Shop and Bar owners on the coast and are being exploited, abused and used as prostitutes, with no attention being paid to their suffering and hardships by the political administration.
Yet, in the context of these glaring problems as a result of political negligence and indifference; Mr. Jagdeo and the political administration, continues to create many grand ‘optical illusions’ and unfullfilled promises to the poor and vulnerable.
The massive migration (which continues) to the USA and other countries, show that most Guyanese, wisely, are ‘not holding their breath’.
I have notice since the corruptions report came out last week the GOV trying their best to distract the Guyanese population.what a smart move but people are not stupid.to this day i didnt hear the gov disputed the corruptions.
keep creating jobs with the roads and schools you build jagdeo. don’t let your detractors engage you otherwise. you have a mandate to keep raising the sstandard of living. if you do otherwise we will have to vote you out.
ow sa-moron, you afraid or what? the kfc going down in 2011 my friend.