Residents from Eccles through Providence on Friday sounded their concerns about the operations of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), saying that resources could be saved if it acted more efficiently in addressing issues instead of waiting for them to deteriorate.
“You don’t wait for the bushes in the playground to get so high, then talk about how expensive it is to cut it, till now you have to get approval from the Minister. No, you have to maintain it… and you don’t wait for the little potholes to turn into craters, no, you fill them… that is why we are in this mess because the NDC [hasn’t] been doing what they are supposed to,” one resident said at a meeting at the Eccles/Ramsburg NDC office, which was filled to capacity.
Recently, the government has been dissolving NDCs and replacing them with Interim Management Committees—a move that main opposition APNU has dubbed undemocratic. Opposition leader David Granger recently called for local government reforms to be expedited in order for the holding of long-overdue local government elections.
Regional Executive Officer of Region 4 Adepemo Peters said he hoped to forge a better working relationship with the NDC and pointed out that he has observed at most of the meetings that there was a disconnect between the community and their respective local authority.
As a result, he urged the NDC to keep the residents more informed of what it is doing to enhance their relationship.
Residents prompted the Chairman, Saeed Khan to say what the responsibilities of the NDC were and in response, he noted that it should be taking on the clearing of the drains and canals, patching of the streets, removal of garbage, clearing of burial grounds and playfields. However, residents pointed out that it has not been fulfilling most of its functions and they questioned the reason for the ineffectiveness.
Khan, addressing garbage collection, which the NDC can only do every fortnight, explained that there have been requests to Central Government to provide a garbage truck which would enable collection to be done every week.
Also, he revealed that the NDC has also asked that Central Government grant contracts to service providers to clear the drains and canals but this has also not been granted as yet.
Khan also revealed that it has been proposed that the council will collect $72.3M in rates and taxes this year but as of May 24, it has only collected $23.7M. He added that in 2011, it had only collected $37.1M at the end of October, with $35M balance outstanding.
Peters later announced that in this year’s estimate, $5M was budgeted for the repair of roads but even this remark brought no satisfaction for residents in attendance. “That $5M is for my street alone? That money can’t even lay sand in all these streets,” one resident declared, while pointing out that needed expenditure would not have been so high if the NDC had maintained the streets like it was expected to.
“Whenever you gather a council, you don’t pick Tom, Dick and Harry. You have to pick people with some sort of expertise, whether it be for roads, drainage and irrigation… if you make budgetary allocations, you talking about $5M for roads, tell us which streets you looking at…,” another resident stated.
Many agreed that members of the council need to go out in the community and find for themselves projects to be done while Peters urged the residents to indicate to the body what needs to be addressed.
Other issues that were focused on during the meeting included the need to repair streetlights in most areas and put up lights in others. The lack of streetlights, coupled with tall bushes on empty house lots, serve as invitations for thieves, residents said.
Khan stated that reports have been made to the Local Government Ministry concerning the issue of the street lighting but the NDC was referred to the Guyana Power and Light Company. The Chairman said firmly that at the council, best efforts are put forward but at times the situations are beyond its control.
When quizzed about how the $23.7M collected in rates and taxes would be spent, Khan said he plans to take on projects aimed at bettering the drainage system and the purchase of materials for road works. However, the Ministry of Local Government will first have to approve these requests, he added.
Meanwhile, Peters related that he was appalled after hearing about the issues the residents are faced with and suggested that the chairman and overseer be much more visible in the communities.
