– Bulkan urges, as Guyana prepares for LGE

GUYANESE are being urged to ensure they can participate at local government elections on March 18, 2016. Since the last such polls were held in 1994, there have been a number of changes to the local government system.According to Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan, local elections are about persons taking control of their villages and communities.
“I say to all of our citizens, make use of this opportunity, seize this opportunity, this is a means for all of us being able to take charge, for the control of our communities,” Minister Bulkan urged.
The Communities Minister further stated that this process will allow citizens to ensure that their parks, playgrounds and open spaces are developed.
Giving power to the people is a direction to which the coalition government is committed, as it believes citizens should actively participate in their communities developmental process. It has been recognised that there is a direct link between local democracy and human development.
“We have to be able to participate to ensure that local democracy does not remain a concept or a construct, but it becomes something alive, living, and breathing where it offers us an opportunity, a vehicle for transforming these conditions in our communities,” Minister Bulkan stated.
The 71 democratically elected councils which will come into being as a result of the Local Government Elections will bring fresh ideas, energy and enthusiasm to the management of communities, according to the minister. The administration has committed to providing meaningful support to the councils when they are elected, so that they are equipped to effectively discharge their mandate.
Although the hosting of these elections is a heavy burden which the State has to accommodate, the coalition government considers it to be necessary and an investment in deepening democracy, as well as good governance.

(GINA)