IN THE next three days, locals throughout Guyana will, for the first time in 22 years, head to the polls to elect leaders to manage the affairs of their communities.It is indeed a momentous occasion since, for too long, Local Government Elections (LGE) have not been held in Guyana. The last time Local Government Elections were held in Guyana was in 1994, and many elected officials have since either died, migrated, or moved on with their lives. As a result, many communities throughout Guyana have suffered from lack of leadership, deterioration of public infrastructure, and a rise of social problems.

Many of the problems Guyana experiences today — such as suicide, alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence, crime, teenage pregnancy and unemployment — would not have occurred on their current scale had there been strong leadership at the community level. And though there have not, in recent years, been any empirical studies into these social ills, many are convinced that they are occurring at unacceptable levels because there is no strong system in place to deal with them.

From all indications, these persons may be right. Although Guyana has experienced marked development in the past two decades, much of it has not been channelled to the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable. This, coupled with the fact that the former administration, to a large extent, had seen development through the lenses of economic progress, had created a posture in which little attention was paid to development of the arts, building strong values systems, genuinely celebrating our diverse cultures, and imbuing ourselves with national pride.

Accordingly, the results have been inevitable. While many are economically better off than they were two decades ago, many are not happy with their lives, and this is partly because there were few operable public facilities for clean recreation. Many of the community centres in Guyana are taken over by vegetation, and this robs residents of opportunities to engage in sport, games, joggling, and leisurely evening walks.

That aside, a number of health centres are falling apart because of the absence of maintenance plans to ensure their proper upkeep. The problem is the same for other public infrastructure.
And while there are centres to address social ills, those are seldom staffed with specialists to expertly address the problems of residents.

With a paucity of clean recreational spaces, a breakdown in moral values, and the virtual absence of a spirit of entrepreneurship at the community level, many young people have shifted their energies to less-than-acceptable activities, the consequences of which include a high level of teenage pregnancy in Guyana as well as a high level of youth unemployment. These ills have, in turn, fuelled the increase in suicide and created an environment for more young law breakers.

The situation obtaining today is undoubtedly influenced by an accumulation of years of neglect to forcefully address these issues at the community level. Therefore, Friday’s elections are very important for every citizen of Guyana, as these elections will allow citizens, through their representatives, the opportunity to fix the broken and decaying systems in their communities.

Guyana can be a strong country only if it has strong communities. Strong communities are vital for the continued growth and development of Guyana. But for this to be fully realised, it would require that residents do more than just merely casting their votes for the candidates of their choice. Equally important is that they hold their elected leaders to the promises those have made, and ensure transparency, accountability and fairness in the execution of their duties.

This is a sine-qua-non for a better Guyana for all Guyanese, and Friday is undoubtedly the historic restart of this important process.