President of new oil producing country Guyana, Dr. Irfaan Ali, on Thursday announced that residents of Region 10, a Town best known for its history with bauxite mining, will soon benefit from the construction of 1000 homes.
Mr. Ali was at the time addressing concerns relating to job creation in Region 10 communities that were raised by representatives of a local women’s group.
“We will be engaging the young people and women in the construction of the homes,” he told the group of women, according to a press update from the Office of the President.
He said that the intention is to tap into the skills of residents as well as to source the building materials from the community.
“We need the materials for the construction of these houses to come from this region. The lumber, the sawmill, block makers and carpenters will all be engaged, if you don’t have the skills, we will bring in people to train you so that employment is created for the residents here,” the President said.
Mr. Ali pointed to several other areas in terms of employment opportunities, which will be addressed to target some in the community including access to educational materials for children, access to healthcare and the provision of opportunities for residents to provide services to support the mining sector.
Several other government ministers, including the Minister of Culture and Social Services directly addressed the concerns of the women, the Office of the President said.
Since coming to office in August last year, Mr. Ali has outlined a range of plans for transforming the South American country. The government has said it intends to use revenues from oil production to push major infrastructure and other projects, while ensuring that other sectors of the economy are not neglected.
Guyana became an oil producer just over a year ago and is set to become a major player in the industry with output expected to surpass 1 million barrels per day by the end of the decade.
