Bar, club owners can access Development Bank funding to soundproof facilities – Pres Ali

As the Guyana Government push to create ‘model villages’ across the country, proprietors of bars and night clubs within communities are being encouraged to tap into financing from the Guyana Development Bank to sound-proof their establishments in order to avoid disturbances to residents.

This was revealed by President Dr Irfaan Ali during a public consultation at Rose Hall in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) on Saturday. Over the past week, the Head of State has been engaging residents in various communities across the country where the pilot phase of the Model Village initiative will be rolled out.

According to President Ali, the number one issue that persons raise during these community meetings is noise nuisance. Emphasising the importance of building communities where neighbours are respectful to each other, the Guyanese Leader outlined plans for the government to work with business owners to curb this issue.

“We want to work with all of the established bar and entertainment areas to see how we can grant concessions for them to bring in soundproof material. So, with [funding from] the Development Bank, they can enclose their bars with soundproof material so who wants to hear the noise hard can go inside, but the noise does not come out to affect the neighbourhood,” Ali stated.

In fact, in two weeks’ time, a team of government ministers including Senior Minister with Responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, and Government Efficiency and Implementation Minister Zulfikar Ally along with other senior officials will return to Region Six to launch the Guyana Development Bank.

Just last month, the National Assembly passed the Guyana Development Bank Act 2026, paving the way for existing and aspiring Guyanese small business owners to start access financing and other support services.

This, coupled with the President’s subsequent assenting into law, now allows for the operationalisation of the Development Bank, which will see loans of up to $3 million being provided to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across a wide spectrum of sectors, free of collateral and free of interest.

“[The team of ministers] will be coming back to talk to you about the Development Bank because we will start the process of putting together clusters of individuals who would want to have support under the Development Bank. We want to work with you on creating those opportunities,” the president said on Saturday.

During these public engagements, the Head of State has been touting the Development Bank as an important component of the government’s efforts to turn community potential into viable businesses, particularly by supporting young people and women interested in entrepreneurship.

“So today, we want to discuss with you a model of government that will be able to create economic opportunity [and] will be able to create communities where mental health, wellness, safety, security, dignity, pride are all part of your daily life,” he told Rose Hall residents.

At the Rose Hall, residents were presented with a vision to transform the township into a cleaner, safer, more attractive and better-planned community, with improvements to roads, drainage, recreation, traffic management, fire and public safety, and beautification.

The proposed upgrades include improved drainage and flood control, road rehabilitation and widening, pedestrian crossings, street signs, additional bridges and culverts, upgraded fire hydrants, street lighting and CCTV cameras.

The initiative will also see the rehabilitation of parks, development of new green spaces, debris removal, and the replacement and repositioning of damaged or improperly placed utility poles.