Guyana gets US$40M from CDB for road works, poverty reduction

The government through the Finance Ministry has signed two contracts with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) that will cater for road reconstruction and see communities benefitting from another cycle of the Basic Needs Trust Fund programme.

The contractual agreements were signed on Monday in the boardroom of the Finance Ministry, with one contract worth in excess of US$6.1 million and the other to the tune of US$34.2 million. The US$34 million agreement will see infrastructural improvement to the West Coast Demerara road from Vreed-en-Hoop to Parika. According to Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, the entire road reconstruction project is estimated at some US$47million, and as such, the government will stand the remaining expenses.
“This project is the latest installment in our extensive efforts to upgrade and expand our country’s physical infrastructure, and in particular transport infrastructure, recognising the catalytic role the transport infrastructure plays in economic development and improving the social conditions in which our people live.
“Over 100,000 persons stand to benefit from the reconstruction project. Meanwhile, the second agreement is a grant for a further programme under the Basic Needs Trust Fund, aimed at making essential social necessities available across the region and to tackle poverty alleviation in vulnerable communities.
“Guyana has had the privilege of being the largest beneficiary of the BNTF programme in recent years, and in particular, the grant agreement that we’re signing today [Monday] falls under the seventh cycle of the BNTF, what’s called ‘BNTF seven’. It’s an allocation of US$6.154 million out of a total of US$46 million for the region as a whole,” the minister pointed out.
Dr Singh has pointed out that the programme has had a vast developmental impact in Guyana, with impoverished communities benefitting from not only infrastructural development, but also skills training in information communication technology (ICT) and other areas.
“I have had the privilege of visiting communities throughout the length and breadth of our country and I’ve witnessed how communities across our country have benefitted from the BNTF programmes, not only infrastructural development and small infrastructure projects, but also very important areas like skills training. I recall for example attending a number of ICT graduating ceremonies in which residents of vulnerable communities were given an opportunity to acquire basic ICT skills and I was extremely gratified to hear how many graduates have gone on to obtain jobs with the newly acquired skills.”
The finance minister added that while the CDB is administering the funds, Canada is also a major contributor towards the Basic Needs Trust Fund. The agreements were signed with CDB Vice President (Operations) Carla Barnett, who noted her pleasure in assisting Guyana. Barnett said the CDB is also engaged in conversations with government on programmes to benefit Guyana over the next four years.