Minister within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development Norman Whittaker says government has invested in training overseers and assistant overseers in order to boost their capacity to fulfil their mandate.
Whittaker also clarified the roles and expectations of these officials in the neighbourhood democratic councils (NDCs) they serve, at the opening of the Overseers and Assistant Overseers Training for participants from Regions 2, 3 and 7 on Wednesday.
According to a Govern-ment Information Agency (GINA) press release, the minister told the workshop that government has poured resources into training with the aim of equipping them with the knowledge and skills that would facilitate better management of local government bodies. He noted that frequent adjustments have been made to the courses in order to keep participants up-to-date with the latest skills.
Whittaker also noted that there was need for more interaction between the officers and the communities they serve as the ministry has been made to understand that a significant percentage of persons are dissatisfied with the services being delivered by the NDCs. He also said that residents are unaware of the work done by the councils and that they have accused them of flouting their responsibilities. He further noted that overseers and assistant overseers are not meant to be “desk-bound people” and charged them to be mindful in their approach to citizens; conducting themselves in a conciliatory rather than aggressive manner. Whittaker also urged the officers to ensure optimum use of the NDC resources and to maintain proper records.
According to GINA, the overseers and assistant overseers training is part of an overall effort to enhance the human resource capacity of the ministry’s workers at all levels, to keep abreast with the changing environment and resulting challenges. The participants were also engaged on the roles and functions of NDC overseers, financial management, record keeping, monitoring and evaluation and community involvement. A similar exercise was held at the ministry’s Kingston office for officers from regions 1, 4 and 10.
