Dear Editor,
I wish to add my piece to the fiasco surrounding the Nandy Park Playground referred to in a letter in SN dated March 7 (‘The Lance Gibbs Community Playfield is needed for the children and senior citizens’). The behaviour of the Eccles Ramsburg NDC is symptomatic of the way most of the NDCs under the control of the ruling PPP are being run. They have no respect or regard for the people of the communities they are elected to serve.
The youths of our beloved country are being led astray into activities such as drugs, robbery and other crimes because there is no facility where they can play. Instead of providing facilities for our children to be involved in meaningful activities, these guys are more interested in profit. The Eccles Ramsburg NDC has displayed total arrogance and utter disrespect for those who want to do things to benefit the communities.
A classic example is the Providence Playground next to Macorp which is directly under their control. The East Bank Demerara Cricket Association (EBDCA) became active after being bogged down by a number of legal issues. The Providence playground is one of the main grounds being used to run off hardball competitions by this association on the East Bank Demerara. Instead of partnering with the association, the NDC has been doing everything to frustrate the efforts to have this facility in playable condition. The hose being used to water the cricket pitch has been locked out of the storage room for months, while the footballers enjoy the comfort of a secure room to store all their stuff.
The EBDCA borrowed the hose to assist in the preparation of Farm Playground for two days and this resulted in the watchman at Providence being suspended for four days. Please note that the hose was left on the ground unsecured while the football gear was locked up. This hose could be easily stolen and no one would ever know, because the NDC does not have 24-hour security at Providence Ground.
Another issue that is worth mentioning here is the way the Grove/Diamond is being run by persons who are demonstrating similar attitudes to those of Eccles Ramsburg NDC. The EBDCA would normally inform the Grove/Diamond NDC of the days that they require the Diamond ground to play cricket, and would receive permission to use same. On most occasions the NDC would at the last moment rent out the ground for shows and for the Cuban doctors to play baseball, with total disregard for the efforts of the EBDCA to stage meaningful activities for the youths of our communities. This is despite the fact that the East Bank Demerara Cricket Association pays 100% fees to the groundsman at Providence and almost 80% fees to the one in Diamond. On a number of occasions the EBDCA would have to pay to weed these grounds.
On any given afternoon at both of these grounds mentioned, you will find 30 to 50 youths involved in trying to find a proper spot to play. Yet the authorities are playing god and doing everything to frustrate the youths by simply not taking care of these facilities. When will this government understand that their responsibility is to the people of this country, most of all the youths, who we say are the future. No wonder we have so many crimes being committed by teenagers and young people who are left to fend for themselves in a cruel world. When will this kind of dictatorial behaviour from the NDCs stop? Recently the Demerara Cricket Board called off an under-15 match because the umpires deemed the ground unplayable. While I understand the actions of the DCB, it must be noted that the NDC failed to provide a proper facility despite having the support of the EBDCA.
I must end though on a positive note in mentioning that Herstelling/Little Dia-mond has been very cooperative in relation to the efforts of the EBDCA to have the Farm Playground in an acceptable condition for the people of the surrounding communities. The chairman, Mrs Sukhdeo, has been very helpful and supportive in working with the EBDCA to create a partnership that will only benefit the communities. She has taken the initiative to restore the Farm Playground so that apart from football and cricket, the people can use this facility to exercise. The response so far from the people has been heartening with many choosing to exercise in the mornings and afternoons, while the young ones utilize every spot for different activities. Thank you Mrs Sukhdeo for understanding the needs of our young people and responding in a positive way to these needs.
We need more people like Mrs Sukhdeo who are willing to work with different associations and groups to benefit the people of the communities surrounding the various NDCs. We need to weed out incompetent officials and have responsible individuals in positions of authority.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)