Some 500 to be employed through ‘village enhancement’ project

THE Ministerial Tender Board’s award of some 100 contracts for the sprucing up of a number of coastal communities between Regions Two and Six could see the creation of as many as 500 jobs.

This was disclosed by Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar on Tuesday following the official signing of the contracts at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, at Liliendaal on the lower East Coast.

According to Minister Indar, the award of 75 per cent of the weeding and cleaning contracts to new entrants is tangible proof of the government’s commitment to ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity of benefitting from government contracts.

“We reached a total of over 600 bids, and a total of 100 contractors were selected,” Minister Indar said, adding: “Minister illustrated that each contractor is expected to employ, on average, a total of five persons; that means we will be providing employment for well over 500 persons. We are in Government to ensure that the procurement process is opened to all, and because of this, we have deliberately not allowed big contractors to bid in this process.”

He said that under President Irfaan Ali’s watch, this present government is about seeking to create employment, and putting money in the hands and pockets of the small man. Having said that, he encouraged the awardees to do their jobs to the best of their ability, as it is taxpayers’ money that is being used to provide a service, which is the beautification of the communities within Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); Four (Demerara-Mahaica); Five (Mahaica-Berbice); and Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

According to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Works, Vladim Persaud, “The Ministry expects that the works will be done in keeping with the standards, therefore, the contracting service must perform excellent to be recommended for future projects.”
He urged that contractors take pride in the delivery of whatever services they are about to render, as they will not only be working for the Government of Guyana, but for the people of Guyana as well.