The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development has made offers to a number of solid waste contractors based on their submissions, after being inundated with proposals from as far as North America for the solid waste recycling programme.
“We have had proposals so far ranging from collection, packaging and exporting of recyclable materials. We’ve had proposals of establishing recycling factories in Guyana and the using of recyclable materials to fashion new products that can be of use to the Guyanese public including using recycled materials to construct light poles… presently we are using wood poles,” Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Ganga Persaud said on Thursday during a press briefing.
Persaud explained that the ministry has had discussions with six providers coming from Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Canada, the United States of America and Suriname and that these are being considered, “all fitting into our going green principle, saving the forest and so on.” The proposals are being given priority consideration as implementation will reduce the burden on the Haags Bosch landfill site, as regards the disposing of non-biodegradable materials.
In giving an update on the solid waste programme, Persaud said that offers have been made to a number of contractors based on their revised submissions and those offers have been accepted. The next stage is to acquire Cabinet clearance for the entire proposal and to sign individual agreements with the service providers.
With regards to the Haags Bosch facilities, the minister said that work is continuing as they are seeking to install another component of the project at this site. “We are accelerating our monitoring as well as seeking to complete all the projects in that programme in its entirety so work is moving apace,” Persaud said, adding that the ministry’s efforts are significantly supported by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Public Works in terms of ensuring that progress is made in a timely matter.
According to Persaud, the Guyana Police Force has indicated that they have submitted documentation seeking guidance from the Director of Public Prosecutions as the investigation into the municipality of Georgetown continues. He said the lawmen have also met with persons who have expressed some degree of reservation in providing information and anticipates that this process is coming to a closure.
From the Auditor General’s office, Persaud said that they have been told that the report is in draft form and that the Auditor General’s department will seek over a couple of days to invite three major staff members who are currently on leave. After being finalized, the report will be made available to this ministry.
“We are heartened with the progress made in the recent weeks and we are confident that both the Guyana Police Force and the Auditor General will continue to move at an accelerated pace, not throwing away quality investigative work for haste in bringing conclusion to this investigation so we can then, as a ministry with the municipality of Georgetown, make whatever decisions necessary,” Persaud said.
Regarding the ministry’s monitoring and evaluation programme, Persaud said that they have received proposals from the Kwakwani and Mabaruma neighbourhood democratic councils (NDCs) and those proposals are being processed and will be taken to Finance Ministry for final approval. He also noted that proposals received from New Amsterdam and Linden have been approved.
“The only outstanding entity is the municipality of Georgetown. With the key staff proceeding on leave to facilitate investigations, there are some difficulties being experienced in locating the proposal which were presented to council. We are advised that work is in progress to retrieve that proposal. If it can’t be retrieved then they will seek to submit another proposal,” he Persaud said.
The minister also announced that Parmanand Chandernauth is Guyana’s National Coordinator of the Caribbean Local Economic Development Programme (CARILED) which will be housed at his ministry. He said that the ministry will soon advertise for the local economic developments officers (LEDOs) for the four start-up regions in which the programme will roll out: regions Two, Three, Four and Six. As the programme continues, they will move to other regions to establish the necessary enabling structures and mechanism. Persaud also said the team from the regional office based in Trinidad and Tobago, which is headed by Naresh Singh, will be visiting Guyana next month for follow-up discussions with regards to the project and also engaging stakeholders in other regions who will be joining the initial four regions.
