Youth centre to open in West Ruimveldt
-built under President’s youth initiative
Stabroek News
February 9, 2003
The President Youth Choice Initiative (PYCI) will on Tuesday commission a $15.6m multi-discipline training centre at the David Rose School in West Ruimveldt to cater for the young people of South Georgetown.
Co-ordinator for the PYCI, Odinga Lumumba, told Stabroek News that the centre would provide facilities for training in home economics, woodworking and in computer skills. There would also be a hard court for volleyball and basketball games.
Young people from the area in partnership with the young people from the member churches of the Guyana Council of Churches (GCC) have formed a committee to manage the centre.
Lumumba explained that one objective of the PYCI is to challenge the young people who were involved in identifying the type of projects for the community to provide sustainable management for them. As a result, he said that the completed projects are only turned over when a committee has been identified and his office is satisfied that it could provide the responsible management that is needed. He said in some cases some of the older people have been co-opted to help the committees.
About the project at the David Rose School, Lumumba said that some $11m was spent in rehabilitating the building; $2.8m in installing ten computers, which would also provide access to the Internet; $1.5m in providing state-of the art equipment for the workshop for woodworking; and $300,000 to equip the home economics department.
GCC chairman Bishop Juan Edgehill told Stabroek News that his organisation would be providing guidance to the young people in charge of running the centre as well as helping them to mobilise resources and personnel to assist in providing the training.
He said the activities at the centre would complement those already being carried on there such as the classes for dancing and drama, the senior citizens club run by the Guyana Red Cross, the Library which is being run by the Inner Wheel Club, as well as the clinic run by the Ministry of Health.
He said in keeping with the objective of providing services to the community, the GCC was being relocated to the David Rose School to provide services such as the provision of hot meals and other social welfare services.
Other projects, which the PYCI has put in place include the rehabilitation/provision of playing fields in Bel Air Park, Campbellville, Prasad Nagar, Tucville, South Ruimveldt Park, Subryanville as well as the Young Men’s Christian Association (YNCA) and Guyana Sports Club (GSC) grounds in Thomas Lands in the North of the city. The PYCI has worked on the Western Tigers Football ground on Mandela Avenue north of B K International.
With regards to grounds at South Ruimveldt, Lumumba said that he has spoken with the Deputy Mayor, Robert Williams and would be arranging a meeting with the management committee for the ground to involve the Council in its upkeep. About the GSC ground, Lumumba said that some work has been done but the rest has been put on hold until the Ministry of Housing and Water can relocate the people squatting there.
Lumumba said the PYCI had also provided computer learning centres at the YMCA, the Council of Islamic Organisations in Guyana, at Durban Backlands where the opening has been delayed because the power company has been unable to provide power to the building; and at the ACDA learning centre in Hadfield Street and is to provide similar facilities for computer studies at the Camptown building once the owner issue before the court is resolved. He said PYCI has also contributed money for the rehabilitation of the building housing Mercy Wing in Sophia and has supplied it with computers to equip a computer-learning centre.
He reiterated that the centres are only turned over to the committee which will manage them after his office is satisfied with the arrangements in place for managing them. These arrangements must address issues such as servicing and for updating the software, pointing out that the committees could raise funds from charges for access to the Internet and other services.
Touching on the procurement practices for projects under the PYCI, Lumumba said only some cases such as the acquisition of computer equipment are done through the Central Tender Board. Also he said sole sourcing is a rarity and where this occurs it is only done after consultation with the Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs). In the majority of cases contracts for services or the acquisition of materials etc is done through the regional tender boards.
About the payments to contractors and other service providers, Lumumba said that a recommendation first has to come to his office from, in the case of construction work, the regional engineer. Where his officers have doubts about the work no approval is given until they are satisfied. Once his officers approve, the Head of the Presidential Secretariat is required to sign off on the approval, which then goes to the Ministry of Finance. If there is no hitch, the money is then paid over to the RDC, which then makes the disbursement to the contractor or service provider.
Lumumba said that the accounts for the projects are audited by the Auditor General’s Office and auditors visit sites to ensure that there are no phantom playing fields and to confirm that the work done is worth the money that has been disbursed.
Lumumba said that PYCI has completed projects in all the administrative regions. In the coming weeks Stabroek News will be highlighting these.
