Villages join forces to shape South Rupununi’s infrastructure growth

Twenty-one communities in Region Nine have formed South Rupununi Development Incorporated to take advantage of opportunities in the region’s growing construction sector.

Toshao of Shulinab Village Nicholas Fredericks will lead the company, which is in the process of being registered.

Fredericks noted that the government has committed to assisting the company with machines and equipment in the initial stage. The stakeholders plan to meet with President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali to discuss ways in which the government can assist in successfully advancing the company’s goals.

“The communities have already identified me to be the CEO (Chief Executive Officer), and Shulinab will be the location of the company. We can see this as a huge potential because indigenous people should be part of their own development,” Fredericks told the Department of Public Information (DPI).

He explained that the focus is for villagers to be integrally involved in the community’s infrastructural development, such as building schools, roads and bridges.

“We will need finance officers, cooks, cleaners, construction workers, masons, drivers, heavy-duty machine operators and service men. It’s going to be a huge project which will bring benefits to a lot of people here in the South Rupununi,” he said.

Shulinab Village is also working with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to look at the possibility of establishing a stone quarry in the South Rupununi.