The Ministry of Local Government yesterday dissolved the Kwakwani Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), the latest in a series of such actions by the government and drew immediate criticism for the move.
The dissolving of the NDC and installation of an Interim Management Committee (IMC) by Minister within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development Norman Whittaker was done despite heated protests by residents in May against government’s plan.
A wide cross-section of the Upper Berbice River community was outraged last evening at what was dubbed the “shady installation” of the IMC. “We the residents of Kwakwani would like to express our total disgust… the Minister within the Ministry of Local Government [has] abused his elected office to trample and impose an IMC in the Kwakwani community,” said community leader Jocelyn Morian, who was nominated to speak on behalf of other residents.
The entire process was “shady,” according to Morian, who said PPP group members in the community were invited to a training programme, only for Whittaker to then swear in members to an IMC. “It is totally dictatorial for the minister to impose an IMC dominated by PPP supporters in a Region 10 community where the residents support APNU and AFC,” added Morian.
Main opposition APNU Shadow Minister for Local Government Ronald Bulkan yesterday condemned the “cloak and dagger” move when contacted on the issue and said that while he was unaware of the dissolving of the NDC, he was not surprised.
He said government’s move was unwarranted, unjustified and undemocratic. “They have demonstrated that they have no concern for local democratic organs…” he said, while describing the action as a “vulgarity.”
The dissolving of the Kwakwani NDC is the latest such action by the government. Last week, the ministry dissolved the Ireng/Sawariwau NDC in Region Nine after previously dissolving the Bartica NDC in addition to several others following public inquiries. The government has come under criticism for not making public the reports on those inquiries and Bulkan said that only yesterday, he asked Minister of Local Government, Ganga Persaud for a report on the findings of the Ireng/Sawariwau NDC and the response was that it could not be provided to him.
Bulkan said there was no justification for the dissolving of the NDC and the government had a responsibility to renew the life of the local government bodies since 1997 but had not fulfilled its responsibilities.
In May, residents of Kwakwani who were against the proposed installation of an IMC protested in front of the Local Government office, where a public consultation was in progress, bringing it to an abrupt end. The public discourse had gone on for less than half an hour in the Upper Berbice/Upper Demerara mining community with fewer than 15 persons in attendance. “All ah dem in deh is PPP and they ain’t running things here,” one protestor had said.
The ministry officially announced the dissolving of the Kwakwani and Ireng/Sawariwau NDCs at a press conference yesterday to which Stabroek News was not invited. The Government Information Agency (GINA) reported that Persaud told the press briefing at his Kingston office that the members of the IMCs were drawn from a number of organisations with which consultations were held, including faith-based groups, small business enterprises, public sector employees and ordinary citizens.
“I urged the outgoing members, as well as the incoming members, to work together and draw from the expertise and experiences from each other so that the ultimate objective of having a system in place that would be far more efficient and effective in responding to the needs of the citizens within that NDC; particularly as it relates to the delivery of the services which that NDC is expected to provide,” he was quoted as saying.
GINA reported that last week, Persaud visited Region Nine, where he met with the Ireng/Sawariwau council and informed of the dissolution, “which is in keeping with the recommendation of the commissioner who headed the inquiry in the affairs of the NDC.” Some residents had objected to move and staged a protest. According to GINA, the minister expressed his gratitude to the council for the services they have been providing to the residents of the communities that fall under that NDC, after which members of the IMC took their respective Oath of Office; pledging to continue to work as a team in terms of addressing many of the residents’ concerns.
GINA reported that yesterday Whittaker dissolved the Kwakwani NDC and installed an IMC. The members include: Sachie Parvaton, Krishen Singh, Winston Rozario, Kay Forde, Evelyn Fredericks, Alert Deborah, Pam Rambarran, Ulric Henry, Glenroy Shepherd, Vivette Williams, Delma McPherson, Winston Clarke, Harlon Sampson, Hewitt Logan, and Harlon Bethune.
According to GINA, training is being done for members of the IMC for both regions, so as to ensure that they better understand certain issues such as the legal framework within which NDCs operate, as well as their specific roles and responsibilities. It reported Persaud as saying residents, of Region Nine and Ten and wherever else IMCs have been established, have welcomed the initiative and expressed the expectations that services will be adequately delivered to them.
He added that while there are a number of issues that are still festering, a large number of matters has to date been addressed under the leadership and management of the newly established IMCs to the satisfaction of residents, GINA said. “All across the regions where IMCs are now established, citizens have greater hope and are experiencing better service delivery… we haven’t reached the stage of perfection yet, but the system is far better than what obtained before,” Persaud was quoted as saying.
