–  part of ongoing US$18.7M programme
THE Ministry of Housing and Water, in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, has organised training in road maintenance as part of the ongoing US$18.7M Community Roads Improvement Programme (CRIP). The process, which commenced yesterday, is being undertaken by Government through funding from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and implemented by the Housing Ministry, with help from the Local Government Ministry.
The feature address was given by Local Government Minister, Ganga Persaud at Regency Suites Hotel, on Hadfield Street, in Georgetown.
Participating are representatives of the two collaborating Ministries, Regional and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, the Ministries of Finance and Public Works and small scale contractors, among others.
Present at the start, too, were Project Coordinator, Karen Roopchand, Local Government Ministry Permanent Secretary, Collin Croal and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Housing, Emil McGarrell.
The course is aimed at improving the planning, monitoring and management skills of staff within the local government sector who have responsibility for activities related to road maintenance.
The classroom sessions will be complemented by practical demonstrations on road conditions survey, pavement evaluation and patching and shoulder repair.

CADRE
The expected output is to have a cadre whose increased knowledge and practical experience will, over time, improve the road maintenance operations of Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs).
Minister Persaud commended the persons who conceptualised the CRIP and noted that infrastructural development would not only be a part of it but the maintenance aspect as well where skills, knowledge and expertise would be mixed, reinforced and learnt.
He observed that there is also the institutional strengthening aspect of the procedure and the capacity building component.
“The CRIP is definitely taking Guyana into a mode that is very much needed. I was happy that today’s session would be a mixture of theory and practice,” Persaud said.
He told the participants he is sure that, by the end of this interaction, they would be better informed individuals to perform the tasks that would confront them.
The minister encouraged them to be positive and make sure they do not dismiss the issues addressed during the training session, urging them to ask questions and share their views.
Roopchand emphasised that the goal of CRIP is to improve the livelihoods of the people living in the beneficiary NDCs, in Regions 3 (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara),
4 (Demerara/Mahaica), 5 (Mahaica Berbice) and 6 (East Berbice/Corentyne), by improving access to social and economic infrastructure.
CRIP involves the rehabilitation of approximately 86 kilometres of access roads within 26 communities across 12 NDCs, to double bituminous surface treatment or asphaltic concrete.
It also caters for rehabilitative works on drains, culverts and bridges and includes the provision of safety features, such as signage, road markings and speed humps.

79,000 PEOPLE
The works are expected to benefit 79,000 people living along project roads and thousands more who will use the infrastructure.
The target NDCs are Best, Klien/Pouderoyen,
Stewartville/Cornelia Ida, Tuschen/Uitvlugt, Unity/Vereeniging, Haslington/Golden Grove, Enmore/Hope, Mon Repos/La Reconaissance, Industry/ Plaisance, Golden Grove/Diamond Place, Rosignol/Zeelust, Bath/Woodley Park, and Port Mourant/John’s.
Roopchand offered that, from a programme perspective, the roads works component is on schedule and additionally, in 2012, some 40 more roads funded by government will be done.
“Sustainability is a key consideration under CRIP and, as such, a major component is the improvement of the institutions responsible for maintaining the infrastructure and also aims at improving their self-sufficiency,” she said.
She said the consultancies are being done under the institutional component, namely the NDC Management and Community Education, Road Maintenance Training and Monitoring and Evaluation, for 180 beneficiaries.