Close to 50 residents to be employed during the construction of White Water road

Close to 50 residents will be employed directly by the Ministry of Public Works as construction will soon commence on a 1.2 kilometre of road in White Water village, in the Mabaruma Sub-district of Region One.

These include skilled and unskilled persons who will be employed as labourers, sawmen, guards, welders and clerks. The workforce will consist of both males and females.

The project which totals approximately $200 million will see close to $20 million being poured back into the community from labour cost within a three-month time period.

During a community meeting on Saturday held at the White Water Primary School, Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill stressed the importance of the government to ensuring that equal opportunities are brought to residents both near and far.

“Initially, we wanted to establish four teams and that will see us hiring just over 40 people from the community to be involved in the construction of the road…And we are looking to see if we can hire more people. Because one of the things is, when we do these programmes we want to empower community and the money must circulate within the community,” the minister asserted.

These persons will be given petty contracts to ensure that they are held accountable for their labour.

He encouraged the residents to adhere to the working conditions that will be established so that the project can be executed within the specified timeframe.

“The same wages that we pay to unskilled labourers in Georgetown will be paid to the unskilled labourers here. The same wage that we pay to skilled persons in Georgetown or anywhere else, is the same that we will pay to people here. You will not get anything less,” Minister Edghill stressed.

Additionally, the minister noted that preparatory work for the concrete road is expected to begin by Monday by the ministry’s Special Project Unit which will also spearhead the entire road project.

So far, initial work from the ministry’s surveyors has already been completed.

Preparatory work such as the alignment of the road, relocation of existing pipelines and grading and widening of the road to about four or five feet will commence. Expansion of culverts will also be done. 

These works are expected to be finished within the next three weeks.

“We were looking at a 15 feet wide road, but I am advised that the request from the community is to do 20 feet. So, we will build the 20 feet…To ensure the quality of the concrete, we will be buying the concrete mixed from a supplier because the road must have a certain quality,” the public works minister explained.

According to the minister, works will be done simultaneously on the various sections of the road to boost efficiency.

Meanwhile, Senior Engineer within the ministry, Colin Gittens explained that one of the thickest types of British Reinforcement Concrete (BRC) will be used to ensure the sustainability of the road.

“So, there are different types of BRC fabric, the number 65 which is the thicker gauge and the number 210 is the very thin gauge. We are using the number 65. That will be placed in the middle of the concrete, and we will be using steel rods wherever we will be joining,” the engineer explained to the residents.

He added that construction plastic will be used in the process since there is a solid surface where the road will be built. 

The road is a commitment made by President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali during his visit to the region earlier in the year. “Today, we being here is a signal that the promise is being fulfilled right now. The president is a man that is very serious about his work,” Minister Edghill stated.