NEIGHBOURHOOD Democratic Councils (NDCs) in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) have been urged to adhere to procurement laws and other financial regulations by the Region’s Regional Democratic Council (RDC).

The call came at a one-day training, hosted on Wednesday, at the Beterverwagting/Quamina Primary School which targeted 105 officials from 17 NDCs.
It came about following the observation of Regional Executive Officer, (REO) Pauline Lucas, that there was a need for training in the aforementioned regards. Speaking at the gathering, Regional Chairman, Geneviève Allen, reminded councillors and administrators that they were accountable to their respective Constituencies.

She warned that residents will only come forward and pay their rates and taxes if they develop confidence in those who are entrusted with managing the NDC. “They will only pay if they have confidence that you are going to spend the resources that you receive in a wise manner; in a manner that is equitable across your entire Local Authority Area (LAA),” Allen said. “I often say that the work of the councillors is more than sitting around the horseshoe table and I will continue to repeat it. It is working on the ground among the people who are expected to benefit from the services provided by the council.”

The Regional Chairman implored participants to use the information received to govern their councils in a transparent manner and to ensure that after their term of office that they would have left a legacy that many can emulate.

Meanwhile, Regional Vice Chairman, Earle Lambert stressed the urgency and critical need for such a workshop in improving the skills and knowledge of leaders at the NDCs. He urged the participants to not see the workshop as just another workshop but one which has the potential to truly empower them.

He said that such workshops are rare and the resource persons drawn from the region to conduct the workshop are all highly skilled and knowledgeable in the respective areas.
The Vice Chairman, who also heads the Regional Works Committee, hinted that, because of inexperience and ignorance, many times he is disappointed to see the way several of the NDCs conduct their business.

This, he highlighted, is related to the issue of procurement. Speaking too, Lucas expressed her disappointment that several NDCs have been blatantly and deliberately breaching procurement regulations.

She was also unimpressed by the manner in which some NDCs were holding meetings and managing their council’s finances.

The REO pointed out that procurement makes up for 90 per cent of funds used with the remaining 10 per cent for salaries and other minor expenses.

She urged participants to familiarise themselves with the Procurement Act stating that knowing and understanding the Act was their first responsibility in providing value for funding their NDCs have received.

“Everything that you do must be out there and when the auditors come you must be confident that you didn’t do anything contrary as the auditors are there to do their job. None of us is perfect so the auditors will tell you where you went wrong and the next time you will not make the same mistake,” Lucas said, adding:

“We must strive to be transparent in everything that we do and I am appealing to the overseers that you are expected to be transparent in whatever you do.” On the topic of conducting meetings, this training came from the Region’s District Development Officers (DDOs) in Rickford Profit and Sherlock Hudson.

Regional Development Officer (RDO), Reshme Chetan, dealt with the Committees of the Council while Assistant Regional Executive Officer (AREO), Ramnarine Singh, explained the roles of administration.

Singh also dealt with the issue of financial management which was identified as a grey area among several of the NDCs. At the training, Allen congratulated the participants for seizing the opportunity to attend while she thanked the RDC for recognising the need for training and organising same.