More than $900 million will be invested directly into the communities of Region Eight as the Government moves ahead with a major initiative aimed at improving roads and bridges while empowering villages to lead and maintain critical infrastructure projects.
The investment was announced following the recently concluded National Toshaos Council (NTC) Conference and will see each of the region’s 31 Amerindian villages and Community Development Councils (CDCs) receive $30 million for road and bridge maintenance, a significant increase from the previous allocation of $5 million.
In a video shared last Friday on the Regional Democratic Council Region Eight Facebook page, Regional Executive Officer (REO) Marti De Souza said the unprecedented investment will strengthen communities’ ability to improve internal access while generating economic opportunities.
“The communities are now given the capacity to do repairs to their own roads and bridges. That’s $30 million to 31 communities. That works out to more than $900 million circulating right within our very own region,” De Souza said.
According to the REO, the initiative comes at a crucial time following the recent rainy season, during which several communities required emergency repairs to damaged roads and bridges. With funding being placed directly into the hands of village leaders, communities will be able to respond more quickly to infrastructure needs while managing projects at the local level.
In addition to the financial allocation, the Ministry of Public Works will provide five pieces of heavy-duty equipment to each cluster of villages.
The machinery—including bulldozers, graders, dump trucks, rollers and backhoes—will enhance the region’s capacity to maintain and rehabilitate community infrastructure.
The programme will also focus on building local capacity by training ten young people from every cluster to operate the equipment. The initiative is expected to create employment opportunities while ensuring the machinery is sustainably managed within the communities.
“We will now be empowering our very own young people right within the communities, and the monies will be circulating within the communities also. Communities will now take ownership of the machinery and take ownership of the work that they are doing to improve access on the roadways and the bridges,” the REO stated.
