Major capital works in Region Seven
Ministry of Communities, December 11, 2019 – Some major capital works are being undertaken in Region Seven, the vast Cuyuni-Mazaruni Region, aimed at improving the quality of life of its nearly 40,000 residents.
Some of these include the construction of several new schools and the rehabilitation of other buildings where students were taking classes in less than acceptable conditions.
According to Regional Executive Officer Kerwin Ward, the Regional administration decided to engage in major capital works in several areas to cater for the population growth in the region.
At Eteringbang on the western border with Venezuela, the Region is constructing a brand-new school that would cater to the children of residents in the area and those who would be able to cross the Cuyuni or Wenamu Rivers.
“We never had any primary school there before. This will be the first one,” said Ward, noting the increase in the number of Venezuelan families coming over to Guyana. The Venezuelans migrants would also be among those benefitting.
Another Primary School is under construction at Kako Village near the very active mining community of Kamarang.
The well-established Imbaimadai mining district, which never had a Primary School will see the construction of one in the new year. In Puruni, a new school is also being built that would cater for up to 350 students. It is being designed to also serve as an emergency shelter in times of natural disaster.
“The construction will be much sturdier than normal because of what we have in mind in the event of an emergency,” Regional Chairman Gordon Bradford said, noting that smart rooms will also be housed in the building.
At Kaikan District where dozens of Venezuelans cross and return each day, a new doctors complex is in the works as part of a regional strategy to ensure that there is “a health centre and a doctor in every major village, while the Kamarang Hospital is being extended to include an X-ray department and laboratory facilities in addition to modern doctor accommodation,” Ward explained
Other major capital works in 2019 that will spill over to the New Year will include the construction of Bartica’s first special needs school at Seventh Avenue. This will be completed by next year. For the future, Bartica is also looking to establish its own School of Excellence to cater for specialised training and development of its young people.
Chairman Bradford remarked, “A lot is happening in this Region. Life has improved tremendously under the Coalition in the past four years. Now we are a capital town and we have a town council. Together with the Ministries of Infrastructure and Communities, we are getting a lot done.”