By Svetlana Marshall

TEAM Legacy First-Past-The-Post Candidate Michael Leonard said once elected into office, there will certainly be a push for residents of Lodge, Meadowbrook Gardens and Durban Backland to benefit significantly from the construction and operation of the world class Durban Park. Leonard was among four Constituency, Nine candidates that participated in Merundoi’s 2016 Georgetown Constituency Debates Monday night at the National Communications Network (NCN). The others included Martin Gaul from A Guyana Nation Building Corps, and two Independent candidates Mia Ritchie and Ivan Bentham.
According to Leonard, Constituency Nine has been neglected for more than 20 years, however, change is guaranteed under the leadership of Team Legacy.
“We are in a complete state of neglect. More bad news, some of the persons who are attempting to represent us at this Local Government Elections, as some people would say, they are like square pegs in round holes,” Leonard said in his opening remarks.
However, he said the good news is – residents now have an opportunity to decide whether they will continue with the “old game of politic” or vote for Team Legacy – a group with a vision to fix the forgotten communities.
A part of that vision, Leonard said, is to create employment within these communities starting with Durban Park. The ongoing multimillion Durban Park Project includes the construction of a 50th Anniversary Jubilee Stadium, in addition to other facilities.
Though, he believes that there is need for more consultation, the Team Legacy Candidate said the project should be a source of employment for residents in the neighbouring communities.
He explained that a high percentage of persons working on the project during and after construction should come from Lodge, Meadowbrook Gardens and Durban Backland.
It was pointed that one of Team Legacy’s pillars is youth transformation, and as such, community centres would be established in all communities to provide safe spaces for youths.
“We talk about restoring community spirit but unless we have some kind of programme where persons can come and receive something from the community and give back to the community that is the only way we can rebuild the community spirit.”

RESIDENTS IN MIND
Ritchie, who hails from Constituency Nine, echoed similar sentiments, positing that the managers of the Durban Park Project should always keep the residents of the neighbouring communities in mind during the execution of the project.
Ritchie told her opponents and the moderator Derwin Hunphrey, the Project Manager at Merundoi Inc, that initially she opted to contest in the Local Government Elections “with a small thought” but subsequently garnered the support of residents within her constituency.
“I found favour with the residents of Constituency Nine, the wisdom I have gotten from that community (from) the older folks, (and) the strength from the middle age and the youth, we have now decided to bring back a lot of things that were lost,” she posited.
The restoration of play grounds, self-help groups and communities centres are some of the plans Ritchie intends to implement once she secures a seat at the level of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council.
Gaul – the Guyana Nation Building Corps Candidate said lighting, crime, traffic congestion, and the need for constant fogging with the notification of residents are among issues he intends to address if elected to council.

BOTTOM UP APPROACH
However, in addressing these issues particularly in the area of crime and unemployment, Gaul said the Guyana Nation Building Corps will be taking a “bottom up approach”.
“We are going to use the bottom up approach starting with the families, consulting with the PTAs [Parent Teachers Associations] at the schools and also religious groups; we will get in touch with them and talk about the families so we can start from the bottom up.”
While Gaul is in full support of the construction of Durban Park, he is of the opinion that greater clarity with respect to components of the project and proposed reallocation of the community health centre in the area is needed.
For Gaul, drainage and irrigation has been an age-old problem which he intends to address.
“That problem has been a sore issue in our community for a long time now, but first you must understand the drainage system… what we need is a complete overhaul,” he posited.
Meanwhile, Bentham, during his contribution to the debates, said under his leadership many of the issues plaguing residents in the areas of drainage and irrigation, parking, traffic congestion, and garbage pollution would be dealt with.
He also hopes to touch base with residents of the various communities in an effort to harness their skills and talents for the development of their communities.