– to address difficulties hindering their work
MINISTER within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr. Norman Whittaker, said  the ministry feels that in some Neighbhourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs)  there is a disconnect between those at the leadership level and the residents whom they serve and that the ministry is seeking to assist these NDCs to re-affirm  connection. Minister Whittaker made this remark to the councillors and residents of the Mon Repos /La Reconnaissance and the Victoria/Triumph NDCs, East Coast Demerara.
Minister Whittaker and Chief Regional Development Officer Sewchan, on Thursday last, met with Councillors and residents of the NDC office in Lusignan and at the Lusignan Community Centre Ground. They also met with  councillors and residents of the Victoria/Triumph NDC at the Victoria/Triumph Community Centre.
Thursday’s meetings form part of a series of meetings planned over the course of the month aimed at addressing difficulties hindering the effective governance of the communities under their purview.
The ministry is specifically targeting those NDCs that are functioning without the standard number of councillors with a view to evaluating the situation and correcting, where necessary, the complexities.
Optimising and enhancing the relationship between the NDC officials and the residents may be one of the solutions to correcting the governance issues and making more effective the delivery of service from the NDC, Minister Whitaker said.
He told the councillors that the ministry’s interaction with residents has revealed a sense of dissatisfaction in some cases with the level of services delivered and, the residents have led the ministry to believe that this is  a result of the big gap between the people and the leadership of the community.
Minister Whittaker said that it is the ministry’s expectation that all the stakeholders would work together to set priorities, programmes and to execute these programmes and projects for the good of the communities. He added that they must also work together to monitor these to ensure that they are maintained and utilised effectively.
He urged the councillors to seek the involvement of the people and to reach out to them on all matters, even as it relates to concerns about why they are not making their rate payments.
To the residents, he said the ministry is aware that whilst some people may complain about not being involved in the decision-making of the community, that the same people are often the ones that do not show any interest in attending statutory meetings between the councillors or residents and are also among those who do not participate in discussions or visit the projects being implemented.
According to the Government Information Agency (GINA), the forum also provided the opportunity to the residents and councillors to address other issues of concern including the need to be informed about projects being implemented in the community, the state of the community roads and concerns about garbage collection and disposal.