Eighteen contracts totalling over $1.3 billion were on Tuesday signed for roadworks in the Lamaha/Yarrowkabra and Hauraruni/Yarrowkabra Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs), on the Soesdyke-Linden highway.
The contract signing was spearheaded by Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, and Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with Responsibility for Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy.
These contracts signal another promise delivered, as President Irfaan Ali had committed to facilitating infrastructural interventions during an outreach to the communities earlier this year.
This also follows an engagement in January led by the ministers, which saw a commitment to construct a number of concrete roads within the community.
This engagement also saw residents complaining of water contamination in the area, to which the ministers committed to having 60 black tanks given to the affected families. True to their word, sixty black tanks were delivered to the community in February.
Minister McCoy said that these developments in the community are indicators of visionary leadership by the PPP/C government.
“This government is a visionary government, a government that has planned and has set out to work with the people to set our country on a footing that will match any other country in the world, and to lift the standards of its people…and this is the People’s Progressive Party/Civic government,” the minister said.
Further, Minister Indar urged contractors to cooperate and communicate with the residents during the execution of the project, as well as to employ residents from within the community.
“What we have today is a contract being fulfilled by a government that is working for you. These projects are intended for good. The way communities and contractors communicate with each other is very important,” he said.
Additionally, the public works minister pointed out that the majority of the contractors for these projects are new contractors, and this diversity indicates that new persons are being awarded opportunities to contribute to their communities as well as to gain employment.
“This country is building at an explosive rate, and a lot of contractors are required to build out this country. This is the opportunity for new people to come onboard—many of them bid, and many of them got work,” Minister Indar noted.
The rigid-pavement concrete roads will be designed to last for decades and will benefit residents in the communities of Swan, Kuru Kururu, and Yarrowkabra.
Many residents expressed gratitude to the government for the interventions.
Community Development Council (CDC) Chairman for Kuru Kururu, John Raphael, said, “I want to say thank God for the growth that is going on. Through this government, I am witnessing a miracle, and I see the vision.”
Meanwhile, 58 contracts totalling over $2.8 billion were signed for roadworks across Region Three, including in the Parfaite Harmonie housing scheme, bringing to fruition another commitment made by President Ali.
The contracts provide for the rehabilitation of some 29 kilometres of road, in communities such as Cornelia Ida, De Kindren, Meteen- Meer- Zorg, Zeelugt, De Willem, Ruby, Leonora, Anna Catherina, Den Amstel, Wakenaam, and Zeelandia, among others.
The contractors, many of whom are relatively new to the industry, lauded the bidding process and are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to their communities.
One such contractor was Jason Atkins, who said the bidding process was a smooth one. “I think the government is giving a lot of small contractors like me a fair chance to get into the system by tendering and ensuring that we have our registration intact so that we can qualify.”
Another contractor, Neil Dookhan noted, “Putting in the bids was very simple. Once you follow the simple procedure, it is very simple. I’m glad I got a contract. I did try, and I finally got one, and I’m very happy about that.” (DPI)
