– AFC wants transparency; PPP calls for accountability; APNU says ‘look and see’

By Gabriella Chapman

CANDIDATES of the three contending parties in Bartica, the PPP/C, APNU and the AFC are all geared and ready for today’s Local Government Elections.
The constituency candidates as well as their respective supporters paraded the streets of the small town on Saturday evening, waving their flags and expressing their anticipation and confidence of doing well at the polls.

The Guyana Chronicle spoke with representatives from all three of the contending parties in the “green” town, who articulated their party’s plans for Bartica.

AFC’s Juretha Fernandes said a majority of persons in Bartica still do not understand what local government is all about. She said their most asked question is why is the AFC going by itself, why not together with APNU?

This, she contends, points to a lack of transparency and accountability at the local government level and the town needs persons who are concerned about the day- to-day needs of the people. As such, the AFC believes that they should contest separately, so as to fill those voids for the people of Bartica.

Giving an example of one such activity that lacked accountability and transparency, Fernandes made reference to a poster that was plastered on the municipality’s market. She stated that when the decision was made to have that poster done, the council was not a part of the decision-making process. To date, they still do not know the cost for that extravagant poster and it was rumoured that it cost more than $3 million.

“Consultation was lacking. We cannot adhere to and encourage a system with persons who believe that they do not have the responsibility to be accountable to the people. We cannot continue to empower a body of people who do not know the first thing about local governance,” Fernandes said.

PEOPLE PARTICIPATION
Holbert Knights, another staunch member of the AFC, said consultations played a major part in their campaign. They are most concerned with what the people want, than what they want to do for the people. Involving the people is what local governance is all about, he said. He added that the AFC is confident that they will be elected by the people since their approach is quite different and involves the people.

The PPP/C expressed similar sentiments. Their campaign manager Edward Skeete said his party is promising the people of the town accountability.

“We are saying to the people that we are going to support accountability. We have accountability to the people. We believe in consultations; going in to the various communities, listen to their problems, before we formulate our budget at the end of the day,” Skeete said.

He also pointed that since his party is not in power, it is at a disadvantage as it relates to their ability to execute various projects.

“You see, we are not in government so we cannot promise anything big, but what we can promise is that our drains and irrigation system within the community are going to improve. In addition to that, our waste management and waste disposal system will also be improved,” he said.

The party’s candidate for Constituency Three, Ewrin Alexander Warde, also repeated the transparency mantra.

“We are promising that we will let the whole idea of the constituency system work, in comparison to how it is currently being carried out. We have planned to activate a system of holding meetings in the constituency first, before it comes to the council. That’s the only way you can have proper representation. Consultation is necessary. We believe that before a project comes on stream, we should have the community involved. The community should determine what the need is; we wouldn’t just bring something and put it to the Barticans like that. They will be able to determine what is important,” Warde expressed.

CONFIDENT

APNU, however, is still confident that they will outrun the other parties today, despite the allegations thrown their way. Former Regional Chairman Gordon Bradford, who is also a member of APNU, told the Guyana Chronicle that the party hopes to carry the same momentum that secured their win in 2016, into the 2018 elections.

“We stand on our achievements and we are saying to the people, judge us from our works and we have so many things that have been done. Bartica has been transformed under the APNU leadership. We are basically saying to people, you can listen yes, but you have eyes to see and you can judge for yourselves. And based on that, we are confident going into these elections, that our people are not foolish. We were starved of development under the previous administration and since our new leadership, we have made tremendous strides,” Bradford said.

He believes that the APNU is going to win by a vast majority again and continue to bring development to the town and its people. He said every Bartican can say they have benefited from their projects, and the party has other projects in the pipeline, which are all part of the good life President David Granger has promised.