…Arita Embleton deputy mayor
THE municipality of Bartica remains under the leadership of Mayor Gifford Marshall as he was re-elected on Wednesday morning at an election and swearing-in ceremony.
The town however has a new Deputy Mayor, Arita Embleton, who is also the constituency councillor for Constituency One.

Embleton, who has been serving the town as a primary school teacher for quite a number of years, told the Guyana Chronicle that she sees this as another opportunity to better serve her community, in addition to teaching.
She said she feels blessed and honoured that persons saw her fit for such a prestigious position, and will continue to serve the people in the best way that she can.

“Being an educator, my focus will mainly be on youth development; finding innovative ways to improve the lives and potentials of our young people here in Bartica,” she said.
In addition to being a teacher, Embleton says that she is also a sports fanatic and as such, she will make positive contributions in that capacity as well.
“Being a sports enthusiast, I will work at the grassroots level to make improvements so that our youths can be meaningfully occupied. Not only the younger ones will benefit, but even the older ones; I will work to assist them in making themselves marketable for the wider world,” she said.

The members of the Town Council were also sworn in just before the election of the mayor and his deputy.
Following the Local Government Elections results for the proportional representation segment, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) secured five seats, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) – three seats, and the Alliance For Change (AFC) – one seat.
For APNU, Gifford Marshall, Vashti Layne, Dwight Beaton, Ronald Sutton, and Kenneth Williams will serve; PPP/C –Edward Skeete, Gail Ann Persaud and Ewrin Ward; AFC – Zulfikar Hack.

Mayor Marshall expressed his confidence going forward with this new council.
“Bartica is a new town and this is the second council. Over the last two years we have learned a lot and of course we didn’t make all the right decisions; but this time around we are in a much better position to govern. A number of persons would have benefited from capacity training and have a better understanding of the local government system. So going forward, we anticipate that we will see increased development in Bartica,” he said.
The mayor also extended gratitude to Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan for ensuring that this election was held in the stipulated time.

“In Bartica, we would have[sic] seen how the local government system would have[sic] benefited us. We have a system now where the community or the town isn’t managed by persons in Georgetown, we have our own in-house representation. We believe that the development of the country starts with the people at the local level and I commend Minister Bulkan and his government for ensuring these elections are held. It will only serve to strengthen our democracy and make us a better nation,” Marshall expressed.

Going forward, he gave the reassurance that the best days for Bartica are ahead. “We now have persons with the capacity and the necessary resources to manage the town and ensure that the needs of the constituencies are met.”

The new council will take effect after His Excellency President David Granger swears in the mayor and deputy mayor.