APNU has picketed outside of the Linden Municipality Building in support of Local Government Elections. I support the call for Local Government Elections. Unequivocally!! 

I also support the call for effective local governance.
Local governance in Linden and Region 10 is in a dismal state; it should be noted that APNU controls both governing councils. Why has there not been calls, drives, interventions, etc, for effective local governance? Certainly, even without local elections, this should have been the focus of APNU.
Linden and Region 10 continue to suffer at the hands the RDC and the LM&TC. I have recently written about the decision to locate a bar adjacent to a long-standing garbage dump. This and other decisions continue to plague the community.
The corruption within the RDC is endemic!! There are bribes and kickbacks and passing of incomplete works within the Works Department. The discussions and “debates” within the RDC leaves one wondering if this is the best of Region 10. There is no meaningful consultation with the community.
Local government, ideally, should represent and protect the interest of the local community and individuals. That this representation and protection is not being provided is further evidenced by the lack of action with respect to a sawmill/lumber yard being constructed in Central Amelia’s Ward. The construction is smack in the middle of a residential area of existing and planned homes.
The IMC claims no knowledge of the construction even though the residents are complaining. This is the same entity that arrives promptly to challenge an extension to a corner shop or a community garden. The RDC also claims no knowledge of the construction.
The reported owner of the facility openly challenges the community with “who can stop me?”
The EPA, the Agency with the responsibility for permitting lumber yards and sawmills, stated that they could not provide information as to whether an environmental permit has been granted.
Some of the residents who will be directly impacted due to their proximity include a security guard, a minibus driver, a market stall holder and a teacher. These are the common folk who desperately need representation and protection from the local governing councils, and who are left to fend for themselves.
So while APNU continues, correctly, to agitate for local government elections, the question remains what about effective local governance?

SAMUEL WRIGHT