THE Hugo Chavez Centre for Rehabilitation and Reintegration, at Onverwagt, West Coast Berbice, will be completed in June this year and an allocation of $6.7M for the culmination of works was approved in the National Assembly on Thursday night.

The allocation falls under the $34.8M for capital expenditures in the social sector, under the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security.
Subject Minister, Jennifer Webster, told the House that the $6.7M will be spent to address several areas of work, including $1.3M for concrete drainage infrastructure; $1.25 for security grills; $375,000 for a pump for a fish pond at the facility; $1.5M for the construction of a facility to rear chickens; and $650,000 for fencing to separate the facility’s agricultural plots from its recreational space.

Minister Webster was fielding questions from A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) front bencher, Volda Lawrence, who also asked when the facility would begin to house the homeless persons it was set up to accommodate.
Webster said that this will be done in June and added that the ministry is continuing its selection process and is also looking into securing support staff and a management board to oversee the facility’s operations.
The Centre was commissioned on August 10 last year, and was expected to begin accommodating homeless persons (100 males and 80 females) by August 2013.
At the opening ceremony, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, Patrick Findlay, explained that a careful selection process was being undertaken that would involve a close examination of the mental state of the persons to be housed at the facility,
In February this year, the Human Services and Social Security Minister explained that 80 homeless persons have already been identified and evaluated by the ministry to take up residence at the facility.
The Hugo Chavez Centre for Rehabilitation and Re-integration was constructed with US$2M funding from Venezuela, and comes with recreational, medical, kitchen, conference room, training and dining facilities. In addition, a section of the land space is dedicated to meaningful occupation of residents in agriculture practices.
Construction of the facility started in January 2010 and was billed for commissioning in May during the visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Bolivarian Republic, Elías Jaua Milano, but was postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.
The commissioning came five months after the death of Venezuela’s much respected President Hugo Chavez, in whose honour the facility was named.