PPP/C DELIVERING ON ‘PLAN FOR PROSPERITY’ Numerous opportunities available for small contractors in all sectors Minister Edghill

Public Works Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill has reassured that numerous opportunities exist in all sectors for small contractors.

The minister was speaking during a procurement training for members of the Black Entrepreneurs Association, on February 18, 2023, at the Umana Yana, Kingston, Georgetown. “Small contractors are not only weeding and cleaning, civil works building of a fence, building of guard huts, building of sanitary blocks in our ministry, building of roads because there are some roads that fall under the $15 million margin that could be given to small contracts and then on the maintenance side of the budget, you have maintenance of buildings, plumbing, guttering, electrical ,air conditioning, a whole host of other fields that could be involved…sea defence maintenance,” Minister Edghill noted.

He said the training is the fulfillment of a commitment made at a previous engagement with the association.

“At that meeting I did make an offer that we will provide an opportunity where we will be able to bring our technical people who are involved in the procurement and management of contracts to interface with you to be able to share with you all of the necessary know how, wherewith all, that you would be able to submit winning bids and when you win a bid, ensuring that you fulfil your obligations in keeping with the terms and conditions of your contract.”

The minister highlighted the importance of meeting the criteria to secure contracts. “It is still in some people’s heads that a minister or some government official could pick up the phone and call a friend and say that I have a job for you to do… maybe that happened a long time ago, our country is governed by laws, the procure-

Whim/Bloomfield NDC receives tractor-trailer to assist with garbage collection, other services

ment act of 2003.” received from the country’s oil and gas resources. “We are now at a stage in Guyana where all of us are experiencing and being part of accelerated development; development at a faster pace than anyone of us would’ve experienced before in Guyana… When you look around you see streets are being done; hospitals are being repaired or new hospitals are being constructed; you’re seeing water treatment facilities being done; housing schemes in all regions of the country… I’m here to tell you that you have a government that is focused not only on collecting the oil and gas money and putting it into a fund to watch it grow. We are committed to feeding, building, and ensuring all the people are alive today benefit from that money, while at the same time, we’ll put aside an amount so future generations can benefit. That is our approach to government,” the Prime Minister noted. and taxes cannot carry out all of the necessary infrastructural work needed so we are making these investments,” he noted.

He added that the act requires that notice must be given before government projects can be executed. “It not who know you and who you know, it’s following the system because when you throw that bid in the tender box and the evaluators are evaluating, your photograph is not on it, nobody knows who you are, they are looking at the documentation that is presented and getting your documentation right is what is important,” Minister Edghill emphasised.

The public works minister said the government also changed certain criteria, like the requirement of three to five years’ experience, to enable new contractors to benefit from these opportunities. “And that was to facilitate and help people to enter into the market and be able to show forth their talent and their skill and get the necessary experience to climb the ladder,” he stated.

Residents from the villages of Whim, Bloomfield, and other surrounding areas along the Corentyne Coast will now benefit from improved services with the addition of a brand-new tractor-trailer to the region’s fleet.

The new addition comes following mounting requests from residents and members of the Whim/Bloomfield Neighborhood Democratic Council (NDC) for assistance with a tractor to complement garbage collection activities within the villages.

During several meetings last year, residents voiced their concerns over the unhygienic state in several parts of the villages as garbage would be piled up for days in designated and undesignated areas for garbage disposal. When questioned, members of the NDC indicated that they were in need of a tractor-trailer to carry out the necessary services but because of the lack of funds they were unable to procure one. They also said that it was affecting both the health and commercial activities of those residing within the catchment of the NDC.

The$413 million Leguan stelling is expected to be completed by the end of June 2023.

The rehabilitation of the stelling is being undertaken by S. Maraj Contracting Services which signed the contract in September 2018.

The project consists of two components geared at achieving the complete rehabilitation of the timber structure, and the expansion of the stelling platform through the construction of the reinforced concrete stelling that will be adjacent and adjoining to the existing structure.

The new reinforced concrete section of the stelling will be constructed on 228 prestressed concrete piles and will measure some 160 ft by 130 ft.

A new link-span bridge will be incorporated into the structure. It will also facilitate the mooring of the ferry, the off-loading of commodities and the ingress and egress of passengers and vehicles.

Safety elements will be incorporated such as lighting, and safety rails on both the rehabilitated intersection and the reinforced concrete northern extension of the stelling.

The project also caters for the construction of an admin building which will be utilised by the staff of the Transport and Harbours Department to essentially undertake and oversee the operation.

So, this will be a significant improvement in terms of their operation.

All of the rehabilitation works on the existing timber carriageway have been completed and that work involved the replacement of deteriorated foundation piles.

Deteriorated timber members on the carriageway were replaced that include capping beams, bed planks, running strips and more.

All of the works on the southern existing timber extension of the facility have been completed.

The works that are ongoing focus on the completion of the reinforced concrete deck at the northern section. After which the link-span bridge and unit-float pontoon will be installed.

With the introduction of the link span bridge system, the vehicles going and coming from Leguan will be able to embark and disembark the vessel with greater ease.

Similarly, on the pontoon with the low tide or high tide, the vehicles will embark and disembark with greater ease as well.

The online booking system will also complement the modernisation of the stelling and provide greater transparency with the booking system.

On Sunday (February 19, 2023) Prime Minister, Honourable Mark Phillips and Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, handed over keys of a $5 million tractor-trailer which was procured by the Agriculture Ministry’s Agriculture Sector Development Unit (ASDU) under the Rural Agriculture Infrastructure Development (RAID) project to members of the NDC for use within the villages.

Prime Minister, Hon. Mark Phillips said that Guyana is currently experiencing accelerated growth and that the government was focused on ensuring that both the present and future generations benefit from the funds

While offering remarks, Minister Mustapha said residents have been complaining about garbage collection services within the area which continued to pose health threats to those residing within the NDC catchment. “We committed to assisting the community with a tractor and we are here to deliver on that commitment. I hope that the NDC uses the tractor effectively because many residents have been complaining that their garbage has been piling up and that the NDC is not effective in their garbage collection services. Now that they have a tractor, they will use it for that purpose. The central government has given support in this and every NDC and municipality around this country because we know, in many cases, the monies collected from residents for rates

Meanwhile, Minister Mustapha added that the PPP/C government has been working to strengthen the infrastructure within the villages after they would’ve been neglected prior to August 2020. “I know for a fact that in this community and in a number of other communities, we’ve seen many pieces of infrastructure were neglected. Since we’ve resumed office, we’ve started a transformation in this community. Over 21 streets were either built of are in the process of being completed. Right here in Whim; when you look at the entire Whim/Bloomfield NDC; it is the most floodprone area out of the three villages,” he explained. He disclosed that it is the hope of the government that the village’s agricultural activities are revitalized with the planned infrastructural upgrades that will be executed during the course of the year. “This year, right here in Whim, 14 streets will be built. We’ve already desilted almost all of the internal drains in the community. We’ve started to do excavation works in the cultivation areas so that farmers can go back to the land. We know that this NDC used to produce a lot of agriculture products, especially rice. We are working overtime to ensure we rebuild the infrastructure, desilt the canals, and replace and upgrade the existing infrastructure so that you can go back to the land. When I came here two months ago, I said that within months you’d have a new pump. In less than two months we’ve installed that pump and it is functional today,” he noted.