EIGHT contracts valued at approximately $852M were signed at the Ministry of Housing and Water yesterday which will see the construction of roads, drainage structures and the installation of pure water distribution networks in different areas across the country. The signing ceremony took place at the Ministry’s Boardroom, Brickdam, Georgetown, in the presence of Housing Minister Irfaan Ali, the contractors, a representative of the Ministry of Finance and a representative of the Inter Development Bank (IDB).
The contracts were recently awarded under the second Low Income Housing Project and mark the start of the infrastructural component of the programme.
As outlined by Minister Ali, the contracts will accomplish the following:
*the construction  of roads, drains, structures and installation of pure water distribution network at Ordnance Fortlands Phase 2, in Region 6 (East Berbice/Corentyne) at a cost of $233,597,373 to the benefit of some 2,185 persons.
*the construction of roads, drains, structures and installation of pure water distribution network at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo, Phase 2, in Region Three (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara) at a cost of $334,570,014, to the benefit of 3,370 persons.
*upgrading of roads at Area ‘B’ Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, at a cost of $64,960,720 to the benefit of 1,645 persons.
*construction of roads, drains, structures and installation of pure water distribution network at Binkey Alley at a cost of $29,530,204 to the benefit of 300 persons.
*construction of roads, drains structures and installation of pure water distribution network at Section ‘D’ Sophia, Greater Georgetown at a cost of $189,400,871 to the benefit of 3,400 persons.
Minister Ali said the project is on target and has even surpassed some of those targets so far and that works have been completed in a timely and efficient manner along with high standards and proper accountability.
Stressing the need for all on board the project to act as a team, the Minister said, in the end, the Housing Ministry, the contractors and the IDB, would all be accountable to the people.
He also remarked that the programme’s design and management have already started to bear fruit and he advised the contractors to do quality work else or the people in these communities would be disappointed. “I’m making it clear that we will disqualify you in the other fields if you do not perform now. We’re not going to sit idle by with poor quality of work,” he warned.
Minister Ali further encouraged the contractors not to tender for additional work if they know they have limited resources as they would subscribe themselves to additional pressure. “You must know the limit to your capacity,” he said, adding that they will be monitored closely and no compromises will be made.
He recalled that the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) wrote to the Tender Board on a number of contractors who did not perform well and will have no difficulty doing so again.
IDB Representative Mr. Marco Nicola said the Bank has had a long relationship with the Housing Ministry and CH&PA since the first Low Income Settlement Programme which ended in 2007 and saw significant investments being made in the areas of land divesture, squatter upgrading, road related maintenance, policy reform and the institutional strengthening of the CH&PA.
He said this Second Low Income Settlement Programme which was signed by the Government of Guyana on April 17, 2009, to the value of US$27.9M, aims to improve the quality of life of low income families through better access to housing.
The programme, he said, will develop new housing sites with services/offsite investments in water and power which were not done under the first programme; the consolidation of existing sites and the upgrading of squatter areas.
According to him, there are also some new initiatives under this loan which include the building of 400 core houses for low income families, funding for housing improvements to increase occupancy, and partnerships with professional groups and housing for the Amerindians.
Nicola said funds would also be provided for the strengthening of CH&PA which would be used to expand the current Management Information System to include the regional offices, the development of a Housing policy for Guyana and the development and implementation of the Monitoring and Evaluation system for the Housing sector of Guyana.
The CH&PA has so far demonstrated the successful use of these country systems and because of this success the Bank is moving towards the use of country systems in more of its loans, he said.