–to help residents generate their own income

By Cassandra Khan
SEVERAL Melanie Damishana residents are set to become entrepreneurs through the Ministry of Housing and Water’s community employment stimulation project (CESP) “block-making initiative”.

Thanks to a commitment made, on the spot, by Minister of Housing and Water Mr. Collin Croal during a ministerial outreach to the East Coast Demerara community on Saturday when the proposition was put to him by residents, the initiative is expected to come on stream in another few weeks.

The brainchild of President Dr. Irfaan Ali, the CESP was set up in 2021, with the objective of creating block-making jobs in several vulnerable communities in four of the country’s ten administrative regions.

Among the Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) communities that were initially targetted when the initiative got off the ground were Buxton, on the East Coast Demerara, Albouystown and Sophia in Greater Georgetown, and Agricola and Mocha on the East Bank Demerara.

At the launch of the CESP back in 2021, Minister Croal had challenged those in attendance to take a leap of faith and become their own bosses by taking up block-making as a trade, whether they liked it or not, as they had nothing to lose.

“The CH&PA will provide the support and the start-up materials; even credit and training and certification from the GNBS to ensure that the blocks you make meet the contractors’ demands. All you have to do is take up the challenge,” Minister Croal had told attendees at the event.

At that same launch back in 2021, his colleague, Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water Ms. Susan Rodrigues had invoked an age-old parable, saying that what the government is trying to do, in essence, is “to teach its citizens how to fish”, so as at the end of the day, everyone is equipped with adequate training and experience to ensure a sustained earning as the economy develops.

“We don’t want to give you a fish; we want to teach you how to fish. We want to empower our people, so that they can go out there and find employment, or start their own business, so that they can enrich their own lives; improve their own lives and that of their families,” Minister Rodrigues had said. “They don’t have to be dependent on government; we want to make you fully independent, but it is our responsibility, as your leaders, as your government, to provide those opportunities for you to take advantage of,” she’d added.

Minister Rodrigues had also noted that the reason the ministry had chosen the most vulnerable communities to pilot the project was because of the government’s cognisance of its commitment to improving the standard of living of all Guyanese, regardless of race, religion or geographical location. She’d also made the point that the equitable distribution of wealth in Guyana is especially important to the government, as the country’s economy continues to grow.

Speaking to the importance of the initiative, Minister Rodrigues said the CESP provides a type of connected work environment that could only serve to improve the work ethics of those employed in the block-making business, as they would have deadlines to meet for contractors and other persons purchasing blocks from them themselves.

“It’s not just about buying blocks from a block maker to supply a contractor; the programme addresses a softer issue of training, and not just training in block-making skills, but ensuring that we help in life coaching. A lot of vulnerable communities, and people who live in vulnerable communities, have been out of work for a very long time, and sometimes it is difficult for them to even know what is their responsibility, when they do have to go and work. They have to train themselves to have that discipline to be able to show up to work; to be able to participate meaningfully,” Minister Rodrigues said.