LOCAL Government and Regional Development Minister, Nigel Dharamlall, has called on Region 10 contractors to complete their projects, which are aimed at boosting the region’s infrastructural development and enhancing residents’ quality of life. The minister made this call on Wednesday during a meeting held at the Mackenzie High School.
“This region has a history of underperformance and it is not something that we will negotiate with. Underperformance is not one of the habits of our government,” he said.
Minister Dharamlall said the region’s economy has been stagnant due to poor money flow caused by a lack of investment and development. As such, he intends to change this with the co-operation of the contractors. “The investments that we’re making here in this region, as a government… those investments are done to the benefit of the people that we made those commitments with,” a release from the Department of Public Information (DPI) said. The minister noted that since taking office in August 2020, the government has been able to fast-track several projects in every sector to push the country’s economy and this can also occur in Region 10.

With this in mind, Minister Dharamlall told the contractors they need to conduct quality work in every community and employ locals to ensure that money is circulating in the region and wider country. “These projects are being executed through taxpayers’ monies and so we would not tolerate shoddy work as it will be a disservice to our citizens… We cannot be a stumbling block for development in this region,” he added. In keeping with this, Minister Dharamlall requested the Regional Engineer to properly monitor the progress of the region’s work programme to ensure that the works are executed without any hiccups.
Aside from this, the minister handed over a $9 million subvention cheque to a representative of the Linden Mayor and Town Council to conduct their work programme.
Meanwhile, at the Watooka Guest House, Minister Dharamlall met with several toshaos and deputy toshaos to listen to their concerns with the view of resolving them. He also urged them to use their influence to encourage persons to get vaccinated.