–Jagdeo promises residents accountability, better drainage and improved infrastructure

IMPROVED drainage, better roads and several community enhancement projects are among the commitments made to residents of several Greater Georgetown communities at a People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) community meeting at Cummings Lodge on Sunday evening.

The meeting, which was led by Vice-President and General Secretary of the PPP/C Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo and several of the party’s local government candidates, saw scores of residents rallying behind the party as they unveiled their plans ahead of the June 12 Local Government Elections (LGEs).

The Vice-President, while addressing the gathering, endorsed the candidacy of several persons representing the PPP/C at the upcoming polls.

“This wonderful group of people that we have as candidates, I believe they’re competent enough to run their own campaign. And they’ve been doing a great job right across this city,” he said, adding that the government is waging a change campaign, not only across the capital city but across the major municipalities.

“We’re contesting in all 80 local government areas; all 610 constituencies. And we have already won 291 of those constituencies, because no other party is contesting here. We have 13 of the 80 local government bodies even before the elections on June 12,” Dr. Jagdeo said.

However, he urged supporters to not underestimate those numbers, and to make it a priority to vote at the upcoming elections.

Georgetown is one local government organ that the party has its eyes on.

Georgetown’s Mayor and City Council (MCC) has historically been controlled by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), and is currently under the control of the PNC/R’s cognate, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).
However, the state of the city under the PNC/R’s unbroken management continues to get called into question time and time again, as Georgetown continues to descend into an increasingly deplorable state.

Over the years, the garbage situation in Georgetown has worsened, reaching crisis levels in numerous instances, while the Council has also failed to deliver in line with its responsibility of taking care of the city’s roadways and drainage systems, the VP pointed out.

“The reason I wanted to come here tonight is to look at you people who live in Georgetown and say that you see a flyer that we have circulated in Georgetown, and I want you to know that every single promise that those candidates make on the flyer the PPP will stand behind,” he said, adding:

“Every road in the city; if you have a road now that is bad, it’s going to be fixed. Drainage and all those issues, more pumping capacity to get the water out faster, concrete drains … We will clean up the city.”

He further promised greater accountability at the Council level, with more community involvement to ensure transparency.

Mismanagement of the municipality’s funds has become commonplace, with the lack of accountability and transparency at City Hall making it impractical for Central Government to be able to continue to directly hand over money to the municipality.

While urging longstanding supporters to vote, Jagdeo urged newcomers to put their trust in the PPP/C, as they can expect greater accountability at the level of the City Council, and better stewardship of the municipality’s funds, as well as several community enhancement projects.