— PM urges Region 3 residents
— — hundreds attend outreach, cash in on govt services

CITIZENS must be able to examine the intentions of their regional leaders, and determine who their leaders’ encouragement to boycott Central Government activities stand to benefit.

This was the strong advice of Prime Minster Moses Nagamootoo and Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan on Sunday to residents of particularly Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).

Bulkan made the remarks during the government’s multi-ministry outreach to the Leonora Track and Field Centre, and Nagamootoo, later on at a community meeting at the Tuschen Primary School.

Bulkan and Nagamootoo noted that on their way to the exercise, there was a group of protesters against the government, while Regional Democratic Councils (RDC) heads intentionally boycotted the event.

At his Tuschen engagement, the prime minister explained that such negative influences of regional officials continue to affect the way in which certain areas receive maximum support.

He said funds are given to the various regions for specific projects, but some regions suffer by being controlled by the Opposition, which has ulterior motives.
Nagamootoo said that oftentimes, leaders elected to meet the needs of citizens in certain regions spend less time assisting and more time opposing the efforts of the government to help.

“They have millions and millions of dollars that they’re not spending on the welfare of our people. In the NDCs, the things that they should look after, they haven’t been doing those things. You have an NDC in the area, and I’d be surprised if you find any of the leaders of the NDC here,” the prime minister said.

He explained that the government’s decentralisation efforts mean that systems such as RDCs and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) have been set up to bring power closer to the people.

However, the negative actions of NDC leaders result in a ‘top-down effect’.
Nonetheless, he noted that Central Government will continue to push development, despite the challenges, and will lobby for such destructive political influences to end.

“The role of the Opposition is not simply to oppose but to partner in promoting the welfare of all the people,” Minister Nagamootoo pointed out.

CANNOT ONLY OPPOSE
“We can’t afford this old-time politics of an Opposition opposing for opposition sake; making noises to embarrass your country and to embarrass your people, and to see that they continue to be neglected,” he said.

Commenting on the same issue earlier at the multi-ministerial outreach, Minister Bulkan said that similar to all other outreach exercises, he wrote the regional chairperson about the exercise but did not receive a response.

“I wrote to the regional chair informing him of this exercise, and encouraging him to take full advantage of it to participate in a meaningful way. I was certainly not taken by surprise at his reluctance to engage the Central Government, but I’m disappointed,” Minister Bulkan said, adding:

“How can you stay out of the process and hope to represent people? I do not understand that. You have to sit with Central Government who are the ones who are in control of the government’s resources; who make budgetary allocations. And it is through a process of engagement that we can understand which areas are to receive funding.”

He noted that the leaders of the region also stayed away from the Regional Agriculture Commercial Exhibition (RACE) on Saturday evening, which event was meant to empower farmers, agro-processors and micro-entrepreneurs.

“What is even more reprehensible,” he said, “is that they encouraged farmers and key constituency not to participate in this exercise which is self-defeating.
“You cannot properly represent persons if you encourage them to boycott or stay away from initiatives and activities of the Central Government that are designed to benefit those persons.”

Some of the most recent actions of the Opposition not benefitting the people they represent Minister Nagamootoo said, was the boycotting of Friday’s sitting of the National Assembly and the commissioning of the 5.4 MW power plant in Essequibo.

Regarding the group of protestors referred to earlier, Minister Bulkan said it is the government’s hope that they, too, would have been proactive by taking advantage of its presence, after publically highlighting their concerns.

He stated that the government will not be abandoning these activities, and encouraged residents of the region and citizensin general to not allow themselves to be negatively affected by the political motives of their leaders.

“Sit in your quiet moments and ask yourselves what is the value or the benefit of not engaging Central Government,” he said, adding: “If you have issues and concerns, you must be able to put pressure on your elected leaders, and ask them how this approach is beneficial to you, your welfare, your family and your interest.”

Meanwhile, over at Tuschen, the prime minister said that their outreach activities also serve to re-educate certain populations about the government’s true intentions.
“We decided that part of our outreach is to inform you [of achievements and plans], because we cannot depend on those who are bent on bringing our government down to tell you the truth,” the prime minister said, adding:

“We are trying to build a partnership. There are some trying to confuse the message, but we are here to set the message right, and to tell you as it is, from the heart. Our government cares.”