The Ministry of Local Government stressed that NDC councillors and representatives from the regions must cooperate with each other, the community and the ministry in order to achieve set goals, when they presented their 2012 budgets for scrutiny at a recent meeting.
In his address, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Norman Whittaker set the tone of the forum by encouraging participants to share their challenges and concerns and brainstorm recommendations. In keeping with the forum’s theme ‘Enhance Service to promote human and infrastructural development across all Neighbour-hood Democratic Councils, he said the ministry is cognisant that there will be challenges that hinder the functioning of the NDCs and as such councillors should capitalise on the opportunities for interaction with the local officials. Representatives of regions two, three, four, five, six and seven attended the meeting, a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release said.
Regarding the budgets presented, Whittaker said they must be prepared with inputs from the community level, not only the council, and must include achievable goals/projects in order to measure the NDCs actual performance. The minister indicated that after the elections and Christ-mas season, he will be visiting the RDCs, NDCs and municipalities to assess their performance based on their budgets.
In his address, Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn said there must be continuous engagement among ministries, NDCs, regional and local authorities in order to manage public infrastructure, projects and programmes properly. “The first face of Government that the ordinary citizens see in his/her community is the Local Government NDC persons,” he said, adding that if the NDC does not function properly and community projects are not implemented correctly then it reflects poorly on government.
According to GINA, Benn said there has been tremendous improvement in implementation and management. He also said the ministry has made sure that encumbrances that may jeopardise safety and efficiency, and create eye sores have been removed and the use and theft of public land reserves has been reduced, while the construction of roads have been boosted and several street lights erected. Benn told NDC officials that the ministry will always make the necessary changes regarding such programmes, but that the local officials must join forces with the ministry and insist that its edicts are followed at the community level.
Minister within the Ministry of Health Dr Bheri Ramsaran reiterated that local officials and ministries must work cohesively, noting that his ministry has successfully lobbied and put in place infrastructure and services to deal with issues at the community level. “It is exasperating that some of the health issues that could be dealt with at the community level are brought to the health ministry,” he explained, noting that this can be avoided if persons at the local level become more involved in and show increased interest in the health programmes that are implemented in their communities.
Regarding concerns about garbage disposal, the minister said that next year steps will be taken to promote the recycling of plastics and styrofoam. He also said that his ministry has been working with a company that collects and recycles paper products. Ramsaran also noted that environmental health must be put on the front-burner to ensure the safety of the environment.
In his presentation, Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee said he had discussed with Community Policing Groups the role they are expected to play on November 28 and 29. He also encouraged the meeting to report any criminal acts that they may be aware of, particularly in instances where a life has been threatened.
GINA said Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Alfred King highlighted his ministry’s skills and life training programmes that cater to youths. He also noted that it has upgraded a number of community sports grounds which has reduced the occurrence of deviant acts.
