• Government allocates $109M

President Bharrat Jagdeo interacts with residents at Kadar's Ville, New Amsterdam, Region 6 (East Berbice Corentyne)

Georgetown, GINA, July 28, 2005

Residents of Mara, East Bank Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) are overjoyed that the road in their community would be improved.

The Mara road that is 25 miles away from New Amsterdam has been in a deplorable state for years and President Jagdeo had committed to its repair during an earlier visit to Berbice.

While at a meeting with residents at the Schepmoed Primary School, Mara yesterday, July27, President Jagdeo announced that Government has already awarded the $109M contract to K.P Jagdeo. At present, the contractor is mobilising equipment in the area to begin work on the eight-month project.

The President said that the contract entails repairs to five miles of road with Double Bituminous Surface Treatment (DBST), from where the road is in a deplorable state, ending at Germania. The project also entails construction of four access bridges.

Government will also repair and maintain the existing part of the road that leads to New Amsterdam.

Residents requested a full-time Medex, but the President said there is an inadequate number of personnel in this category of Health Professionals. He said he would arrange medical outreaches for the area, through the Ministry of Health.

They also requested a teacher for the Schepmoed Primary School, which has 40 students at present. The President noted that the number of trained teachers is limited, but expressed Government’s willingness to train a young qualified person to fill the gap.

Mara is not governed by a Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), as such rates and taxes are not collected. However, it has a registered Community Development Council (CDC). Residents called for the drains to be dug in the area and the President said government will do the main drains and the CDC should organize a mechanism whereby residents contribute to clear the internal drains.

“The road alone is $109M; it is not just sand and loam. It is a good road. So I can’t commit to anything else with a substantial cost, which I will not be able to deliver. So we would try to help, but the community needs to do some work too,” he told residents.

Additionally the President instructed the Regional Administration to clear an outfall as requested by the residents and to help the Women’s group clear and fill an area on which they can, through self-help, construct a building for their activities. The women’s group also asked the President for a school building at Mara, that is unused, suggesting they can move it to a suitable spot.

However, the President said it is State property and hence, the community collectively decides on what the building should be used for.

Mara pensioners also experience several problems in uplifting their pensions. The major inconvenience is that of plying the long journey to New Amsterdam to uplift the money, which sometimes is not ready on the announced date. They requested, and President Jagdeo agreed that an Officer from the Post Office should visit the area monthly to deliver the pension to the estimated 25 elderly citizens.

The President also stopped at Germania and Mara’traite. At the latter Village, farmers called for drains and complained about substandard works done on main canals. The President instructed the Regional Administration to revisit and rectify the problem by next week.

The Head of State also stopped at Gay Park.

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• President Jagdeo points to big plans for Region
  President Bharrat Jagdeo interacts with residents at Lesbeholden, Black Bush Polder Region 6 (East Berbice Corentyne)
  

Georgetown, GINA, July 28, 2005

Several communities across Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) will have ‘facelifts’ shortly as a massive street repair project has begun.

President Bharrat Jagdeo during visits to Region Six communities yesterday, July 27, disclosed that more than 30 streets within communities will be repaired and several main access roads in the Region. At a meeting with residents at Rose Hall Town, the President disclosed that 16 streets will be repaired in that Town and another 15 in Corriverton.

Government has already awarded the $592M contract to DIPCON Engineering and works will start shortly.

Government will also be spending some $600M to improve the road network in New Amsterdam, Region Six following the Town Council’s failure to execute repairs.

On August 2, tenders will be opened for 29 roads in New Amsterdam.

New Amsterdam, Rose Hall and Corriverton are the three Towns in the county of Berbice.

Speaking on repairs and construction of main access roads to complement the existing network, the Head of State said Government is currently negotiating a US$10M loan with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to fund the re-construction of the Black Bush Polder road, which would be resurfaced with an asphalt layer. The loan is expected to materialize within three years. In the interim, this year, Government is spending $192M to undertake repairs and maintenance works on the current road. The contract was awarded and works will start shortly.

However, when the road project comes on stream, cash crop farmers planting on the roadside would have to be removed.

President Jagdeo said that many rice farmers who have been cultivating rice on Government reserves will be forced to discontinue such practice when the new road project comes on stream, as the reserves will be repossessed for road use.

Additionally, a $109M contract has been awarded to repair the Mara road.

“We are spending $1.4B on upgrading streets in Corriverton, Rose Hall, Mara and Black Bush. Then we are spending a lot of money and putting in electricity in these areas. Hopefully by the end of the year we would start paving the public road. We are going out to tender at the end of August for the Berbice bridge,” he said.

The President noted that with these projects on stream, Government’s spending in the area would drastically increase, as has been happening in other parts of Guyana, as the Administration seeks to modernize the relatively-young nation.

The streets to be repaired at Corriverton and Rose Hall are:

North Rose Hall:

• Market Street - Third Street
• Fourth Street - Sixth Street
• Seventh Street - Sister’s Street
• Bullet Wood Street - Chandisingh Street
• Independence Street

South Rose Hall:

• Portuguese Quarters - East Sideline
• Last Street - Independence Street
• West Sideline

South Williamsburg :

• Toolsie Street - First Street
• Second Street

Corriverton:

• Well Road - Church Street
• Kim Jung IL Street - Albert Street
• Rahaman Street - No. 79 Section C Street
• Narine Street - Orville Street
• Calcacarian Street - Sattie Street
• Joan of Arc Street - Crown Street
• Laxmi Street - Halema Street
• Darcan Street