Pull Quote: ‘As soon as you find them going out of line or astray from the contractual obligations or the specifications of the Bill, we want you to get on to us so that we could stop them in their tracks. When we invest money we must have value, and we want you to work with us to ensure we have value’
-Housing Minister
THE HOUSING Ministry on Wednesday signed contracts with two contractors for the upgrade of community roads in the Parfaite Harmonie/Westminster communities of Region Three (West Demerara/Essequibo Island). The deal was sealed during a meeting that updated residents about the further planned development there, and urged them to be vigilant in monitoring the implementation of the works.
Minister of Housing and Water, Irfaan Ali, addressed the gathering of residents of Parfaite Harmonie and Westminster at the Westminster Primary School, West Demerara.
The contract was for $70.75 million for 3.4 kilometres of roads done in double bituminous surface treatment (DBST), and another 1.7 kilometres done in asphaltic concrete in the community. The two contractors are Eagle Transportation and General Construction Inc, and Courtney Benn Contracting Services Limited.
“This is a signing ceremony between the people of this community, the ministry and the contractor whose services are paid for and procured so that they can deliver to us a service that is of high quality in accordance with the specifications of the contract. This is a pact between the people and ourselves,” the minister told the residents.
“This is why I am happy to see so many faces here. The mere fact that you are here sends a strong message to the contractors that you are interested in the works that are going to be done, and that you are watching. And this is what we want,” he said, adding:
“We are going to leave un-priced copies of the Bill of Quantities with the Region Three Regional Democratic Council, and the other with the residents of the various streets, so that you will watch and you will see what is being delivered to you.
“As soon as you find them going out of line or astray from the contractual obligations or the specifications of the Bill, we want you to get on to us so that we could stop them in their tracks. When we invest money we must have value, and we want you to work with us to ensure we have value.”
Noting that the ministry, he heads would soon be putting on its website a draft contract, so that persons building houses could enter into legal contract with contractors by downloading and printing out the document, Minister Ali said:
“Because of the boom in the construction industry, contractors are finding it very easy to get a lot of work, and when they get the work, they sometimes abandon people’s homes to take another job, and we have to address this. The level of complaints that we are receiving has now necessitated our active intervention, and we are going to look at different regulations governing builders and contractors — how they can be licenced, how the licence could be suspended, whether we could develop a national database of contractors and based on their performance they are rated and people go online and make comments based on their experience,” the minister said.
“I want to encourage persons who are building to enter into contracts with the contractors. Many times, they get away with what they do because you do not have a contract with them. There is no written contract, so you can hold them [accountable],” he added, noting that such a safeguard was also in the best interest of the contractor, in that they too will be protected against homebuilders who may want to fleece them.
On the need to contemplate alternative entrance and exit points for the Parfaite housing scheme, the minister said: “A lot of residents at that meeting spoke of the 21-bump road, and this is not bumps in terms of potholes but in terms of speed humps. And then there is the pressure on the Canal No. 1 road to take off the traffic.”
He said that in addition to this, the traffic volume continues to grow and the single bridge that gives access to the Canal No. 1 road had reached a stage at which it required urgent attention. “At that meeting, we assured residents on a number of initiatives that we are going to pursue in order to have the issues addressed in the 2011 budget,” the Minister said. 
Where water saw concerned, he said: “I am very happy to report to you that as it relates to the water sector, we have completed a new well in Parfaite Harmonie; we spent more than $70 million in having a new well completed in Parfaite Harmonie. We have completed the design and tendering of the bridge that gives access to this community from the Canal No. 1 road…[and] very shortly, this contract will be awarded.”
With respect to the quality of the bridge, the minister said it would be a reinforced concrete structure that would be able to withstand heavy vehicles and would be wide enough to accommodate two-lane traffic, and that negotiations with landowners, Gafoors, have advanced well on acquiring the necessary land through which to place the alternative access road for Parfaite and other communities.
The Ministry, he said, is in the process of completing the designs for the access road.
“Long before the end of this year, we are going to have works commence on that road. Parfaite Harmonie is going to become a scheme second to none. Today, we had a meeting with a number of private sector companies, including Courts, a number of the banks. All of them came in to discuss with us the future plans for their expansion into Parfaite Harmonie, because they see the potential that this scheme has,” he said.
According to the minister, since 2000, Government has invested $4.5 billion in Parfaite Harmonie and for the entire Region Three; the total investment in housing to date is $17 billion. This has resulted in 25,000 house lots benefitting 102,500 persons. The average cost of a house lot is $700,000.
For Parfaite Harmonie, the works in the pipeline include development of Recth-Door-Zee Phase 2, and the drilling of a new well for the Parfaite community. Some $800 million is to be spent in the community this year for housing development and these works will benefit 6,600 house lots or 27,000 people, the minister said.