The project implementation rate of the Public Works Ministry was a worrying 55% under the previous Coalition administration. But according to Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, this figure has since almost doubled under the current PPP/C government.
On Day Four of the ongoing 2021 Budget debates at the Arthur Chung Conference Center, Minister Edghill compared past and current project implementation rates.
According to him, the then Public Infrastructure Ministry had a project implementation rate ranging from 57% to 61%.
“You know what was our implementation rate at the Ministry of Public Works for 2020? (It was) 95.7%, moving from 57 and 61% over the last five years. We’ve got to right the wrongs,” Minister Edghill said.
The Minister further spoke of some of the projects the government is currently implementing.
When it comes to roads, Edghill explained that consultations were done countrywide when the PPP government got into office.
“If you look around now, we had an emergency budget. And I can say this without fear of contradiction because it’s happening across the country. Everyone wants their roads fixed. You know what we did when we went into the Ministry? We sent out our engineers to every NDC and RDC to consult.”
“Each NDC was to name the two top priority roads for fixing. We didn’t discriminate by where Indians live and where Africans live. We fixed roads. As I stand here to speak tonight, 168 roads are under construction throughout Guyana,” the Public Works Minister further said.
During his 2021 budget presentation, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh had announced the allocation of $25.6B for the development of roads and bridges.
He had said $23.7B will be spent on roads while $1.9B is earmarked for bridges.
According to the Finance Minister, the sum includes works to upgrade a number of existing roads and bridges as well as initiate new projects.
