Though no mention was made about actual plans or a timeline, Local Government Minister Sonia Parag yesterday said that plans are underway to rehabilitate the Bourda and Stabroek markets.
She made the revelation at her yearend press conference. Though no specific commencement date or timeline was given she stated that there are plans.
“So the Stabroek Market, there are plans in the future, there will be plans in the future to rehabilitate the entire market, but it will be a part of a holistic plan for the city. Recently the Ministry of Local Government met with the King Charles Foundation of which the mayor was a part of the meeting and we spoke about the urbanizing and restoration of that area”.
She added that following a walkabout with President Irfaan Ali around the Bourda Market area and a subsequent follow-up with some of the vendors of the “green” area, a structure is being looked at for that section. She also noted that following several clean-up initiatives held over the years targeting the Bourda market, garbage can be seen in the same vicinity hours after.
Addressing the current situation with garbage in the city, she described it as deteriorating. Parag noted that the Local Government Ministry does not have a mandate to clean the city but assist wherever it can. She stated that they have been making efforts to assist by way of the national clean-up initiatives undertaken occasionally.
“Now the city has its own mandate. The City Council has its own mandate in relation to the collection of garbage, the capital city has the largest intake of rates and taxes and that we are supposed to be using to ensure that it’s timely as well as the proper collection of garbage in the city. The ministry has offered and has supported time and time again in the last year, in relation to garbage collection”, she said.
Commenting on the reappointment of the Local Government Commission (LGC), she stated that the ministry will continue to have oversight but the Commission will be established at an “appropriate” time. She provided no further information. The life of the last LGC expired in April of 2024.
Highlighting some initiatives undertaken under the ministry through 2024 she stated that in the government’s part-time employment programme in which 5.5 billion was injected 11,000 women are employed earning some $458 million. 2,465 persons are employed as community enhancement workers on the state programme.
Works were facilitated across the 10 administrative regions under the ministry, through the regional democratic system to the tune sum of $80.2 billion and saw investments in health, education, agriculture and public works.
Each region from regions 1 to 10 she said saw the rehabilitation, maintenance and construction of schools, health centres, farm-to-market roads, bridges, the purchasing of garbage trucks, tractors and brush cutters, with Region 1, seeing $6.7 billion injected, Region 2, $8.1 billion, Region 3, $11.3 billion, Region 4, $12.4 billion. Region 5, $6.3 billion, Region 6, $13.9 billion just to name a few…”.