– Min Ferguson urges ECD villages to take back communities

MINISTER within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson, has urged residents of Plaisance, Goedverwagting and Sparendaam on the East Coast of Demerara to actively participate in the upcoming local government elections (LGE).

At a community meeting held at the Plaisance Primary School on Sunday, the minister reminded residents that the elections represent an opportunity for them to elect councils and councillors who will ensure the development of their respective communities. She emphasised that choosing the best officials to serve the communities will ensure that programmes such as garbage collection, maintenance of drains, community roads and street lights are executed by the NDCs and that the residents are not left dependent on the ministry for these services.

“Areas such as these are managed by NDCs, which get a government subvention and collect taxes to execute such programmes, so, that everything does not have to be done at central government level,” Ferguson explained.

Minister Ferguson reiterated that failure to grasp the opportunity to participate in the elections could result in a reversion to the decay that had beset many for several years. “If you examine infrastructure in certain communities, you would find that for 20-plus years there were blocked drains, no street lights, deplorable bridges and rates and taxes were not collected in a timely manner. You have to go out in your numbers and cast your votes solidly to change the current dynamics,” Minister Ferguson stressed. Echoing those sentiments, Technical Advisor to Minister of Communities Shawn Austin noted that LGE was resuscitated by the government to empower persons to participate and to lead in the renewal of their communities.

Austin told residents that this local democracy is important, because “it lets you understand that we serve you the people and we listen to you in the decisions you make in your constituencies and the representatives. Hence, the reason the government brought back the local government elections,” Austin underlined.
Local government elections were successfully completed in Guyana, after a 22-year delay, on Friday, March 18, 2016. The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has been allocated some $2.9B for holding of the elections, which will be constitutionally due between the beginning of November and early December this year. The 2016 LGE saw a 43 percent participation. However, this government has set a higher percentage target for 2018. (DPI)