…Mayor Marshall talks up development in township

By Gabriella Chapman

SINCE the declaration of Bartica as a new addition to the towns in Guyana, Gifford Marshall has remained at the helm. This could be an indication of the people’s confidence in his ability to lead and transform what was once a rural village, into Guyana’s first ‘Green’ Town.

The Guyana Chronicle spoke with this young leader to have him share his journey from a normal member of the community to becoming head of the Town Council since 2015. Marshall was born and bred in Second Avenue Bartica, to parents Elizabeth and Godfrey Marshall. That was during the 1980s, he said, back when there were no paved roads or drainage systems, and the youths would enjoy outdoor games such as ‘gam’ and ‘sall out’. He also made mention that those days, the town had a lot of creeks running through it, creeks in which the children enjoyed having a good swim.

“Those days were beautiful,” he said. “Bartica was always a beautiful place, and still is. But it was a little different back then, because we hadn’t all these developments,” he said, adding:

“If we are to connect back then to what we have now, back then we depended heavily on the river as a source of water for our household needs and enjoyment.

**“Today, because we are much more developed, those creeks would have been converted to concrete drains, and unfortunately, mining would have affected the river and it is heavily polluted. So you will find that we don’t have all those river activities now, like we have had back then.”

Continuing to reflect on his childhood, he shared that he attended the St. Anthony’s Primary School and later Bartica Secondary School.

Mentor Guidance
Marshall said that upon completing his Secondary level Education, a member of the community whom he identified as ‘Reginald Hoppy’, recruited him along with a group of other young people comprising mostly boys, and he encouraged them along the path of teaching.

“I went on to Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) after a year of teaching, and that was through the inspiration of Hoppy who saw a number of young people he wanted to mentor and guide. He had one on one discussions with us and brought us into the teaching profession. After CPCE I returned to Bartica and taught for a number of years at the Bartica Secondary School in the Technical field. It was a great experience teaching, and contributing positively to the lives of the youth and investing in their growth,” Mayor said.

GREAT OPPORTUNITY
A few years later, an opportunity came where he was asked to teach in Bahamas, of which he accepted and taught at a High school in Nassau for four and a half years.

“That too was a life changing experience. Different culture, different society, and you were able to better understand why people do what they do… But one of the greatest experience I’ve had in Bahamas was meeting the now deceased Dr. Miles Munroe. I attended his ministry and leadership classes for four and a half years and I can tell you that it was impactful and life changing to say the least. Because it was focused on leadership and the importance of leadership and mentorship,” he said.

At that time, Marshall said he had no idea that he would have later been part of the political system in Guyana. However, he subsequently returned home because of his matrimonial ties with Afesha Marshall, a Lindener, and his two daughters, Gianna and Amariah.

He then spent approximately four years in Linden, before returning to his Home Town Bartica. Upon his return, Marshall said he made a decision to resign from teaching, and he was later nominated to be part of the first council and then subsequently went on to be the first Mayor.

“It’s something that I never saw myself becoming, I saw it as a major responsibility. I saw it as something that was like a mountain before me. So even when it was first proposed, I did not take it seriously because I thought that I definitely would not get involved with that. But when it became obvious that I would be the person that would be pushed forward, I remembered that I always wanted an opportunity to serve and make a difference. Eventually I took up the offer and it was a great mandate because His Excellency loves Bartica dearly and placed Bartica as the example where greening is concerned,” he discoursed.

Marshall said that what the town lacked then, is what they have now.
“Bartica should have been a town a number of years ago. That town would have allowed individuals to be elected, who would put together a plan to transform what was then village. The development in the previous administration was scattered, but today we have a vision,” he lamented.

That, Gifford said, was his reason for his political choice, in addition to the fact that the people of Bartica would have always favoured the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R).

\“I had an opportunity to do my personal assessment on what the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) had to offer, and in my estimation, their values and what they stand for confirm to… What I love best is that a lot of emphasis is placed on democracy… they provide the opportunity for any young person in politics to work their way up from the bottom,” Marshall stressed.

His Time as Mayor
“I had a great team, but the disadvantage was that Bartica was a new town and none of us knew what it is to be a mayor, or a town clerk or to function on the council. So it was a really great task especially when it came to the expectations of the people. Because 0persons thought that Bartica becoming a town, all the problems will be fixed overnight,” he said.

Adding that “There was need for much capacity building and need for much resources. That we sought and received, and I must admit that we have made some really poor decisions, but we tried our best to be accountable as possible and people friendly… At the end of the day we would have made errors and poor decisions, but the positives, the impactful decisions, outweighed the negatives. All together we came together to make a great team.”
Marshall was just a few weeks ago, elected by the new town council as the Mayor to serve another term. He said that the town is doing much better but is nowhere close to where they want to be. Hence, the diligent work must continue.

“Three words we will stick with that was passed on to us by the Ministry of Communities during a capacity building session; ‘service, success and succession’… We first had to understand that we have a commitment to serve the people. We were elected by the people to make a difference. So we have to stay committed and continue to provide the service that you were elected to do…

“It is also important for us to understand that we need to be not just a council but a successful council, and in this particular case we were given the mandate of becoming Guyana’s model green town and we are going ahead to pursue those objectives…
“And then succession, it is important that we lay the foundation so the future councils can continue to build on what we would have left,” Marshall said.

During the past two and a half years, he reflected on a myriad of developmental projects that were successfully executed in the town.

However, Marshall said the challenges were grand, but “Leadership is a lonely road. You can delegate authority, but you cannot delegate responsibility. As a result, everything rises and falls on leadership,” he said.

Nonetheless, he believes and is confident that his new council will be diligent forces in transforming the town. He closed the interview with a Christmas greeting: The Municipality of Bartica, joins the millions of believers around the world in celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

This occasion gives us the opportunity to share the selfless love that God taught us. For it is written; And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. And “For God so love the world that he gave his only begotten son”.
May the joys and peace of this season be emulated in every aspects of our lives as we strive to make Guyana a better place. May our givings be not for the accolades of men but from a heart of love for a better world.
Merry Christmas.”