Kwakwani residents last evening cast ballots to elect a committee to run the community, even as the government’s threatened strong measures against the Region Ten leadership for encouraging what it deemed an “irresponsible and illegal” act.
Up to last night residents were awaiting the results of the election to determine a 15-member committee to replace the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), after they rejected a government-appointed Interim Management Committee (IMC).
The workers’ club and its immediate environs were filled to capacity last evening as a large number of residents gathered to cast their vote. The election was scheduled for a 6pm start but got underway approximately one hour late, by which time the crowd had grown tremendously.
Organisers facilitated the transport of residents from all corners of the community, including Waterfront, Lamp Island and Jones Town, for the vote which saw a reported 237 persons cast their ballots.
The process was described as democratic and saw each adult resident given a sheet of paper with the names of 38 persons, from which they were to select 15 names. “We have a very good system to ensure that no one person votes more than once,” said Kelvin Daly, one of the candidates on the list and who was also a key coordinator of the activity.
Several residents expressed their frustration at the state of their community and condemned the government’s response to their calls for democracy. “They (the government) can call it what they want, what we doing here is putting the people who we think can [be] leaders to watch our backs,” said a resident, who asked not to be named saying he feared being targeted. He added that he is not a hater of the existing government but he rejects the way they have treated the community. “You can’t expect to treat us like rejects and expect us to vote for you and if the APNU or the AFC fail to represent us is the same treatment they gon get,” he added.
Another resident said that she was disappointed by the actions of Minister in the Ministry of Local Government Norman Whittaker to disband the NDC and install an IMC without consulting with the community. “They came in here before and try to push an IMC on us before. The consultation stop because we protested against the process and they never showed any interest of returning to consult in a manner comfortable to us,” said the woman.
Several others declined to comment save to say that they were in support of the election.
Region Ten Chairman Sharma Solomon and a group of Regional Democratic Council (RDC) councillors were in the area as were AFC executives Fitz Hubert Ralph, Michael Carrington, Gerhard Ramsaroop and other party members, PNCR member Aubrey Norton and trade unionist Lincoln Lewis.
Warning
Two days after visiting the region, Whittaker, in a letter to Solomon, warned that government would take “strong legal and administrative measures” in the event that the elections went ahead.
“I would expect that you would take the correct decision and that is: to heed my [advice] against what would be an irresponsible and illegal act,” Whittaker wrote, reminding that under the Local Democratic Organs Act and the Local Government Act, neither Solomon nor the RDC had any authority to facilitate the polls.
“Indeed, unless the Hon. Minister of Local Government by specific Order so provides, there is no administrative nexus between the Region Ten RDC and the Kwakwani NDC/IMC,” he argued.
Whittaker further pointed to a July 2012 Ministerial Order, which revoked the delegated authority that was granted by the previous government to RDCs in 1983 by the then Minister of National Mobilisation, which had allowed for a relevant RDC to oversee the NDCs operating within its geographic area.
He said that the revocation had brought all NDCs under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development and its duly authorised personnel. “You are therefore urged not to embark on or encourage other persons or agencies or organisations to embark on what would obviously be an illicit act that would attract strong legal and administrative measures from our Government,” Whittaker cautioned Solomon.
In a response, Solomon emphasised that it was the people of Kwakwani who indicated to him at a community meeting on August 29, at the Workers Club, that they would be electing their own Community Council to act on their behalf, in light of their rejection of the imposition of the IMC.
He noted that the rejection of the IMC saw the staging of a one-week protest, the holding of vigils, the closing down of the NDC office, the refusal of stallholders to pay rates and the withdrawal of several members appointed to the IMC. Further, with government not paying any attention to the situation, he said, residents agreed to community elections by consensus to elect members from the community who they believe will act in their interest, which he said is their democratic right.
The Region Ten RDC, Solomon noted, though not involved in any way in the process, is willing to respect the fundamental rights of the people of Kwakwani in electing individuals of their choice to manage the affairs of their community.
Solomon also said that he found it interesting that in order to subvert democracy, the government had revoked the 1983 ministerial order that promotes democracy and replaced it with one that centralises power.
“As Chairman, my actions will be determined by the will of the people. It is therefore undemocratic and unfortunate that the government would want to establish IMCs, especially in areas where the electorate have rejected the party that formed the government at the last elections; rather than pushing to ensure that the country has local government reforms and elections, after this right would have been denied to the people of the country for the last 16 years,” he added.
Recentralising power
Norton, while in Kwakwani yesterday, said that Persaud’s revocation of the 1983 Order that gave the authority to RDCs to oversee NDCs within their geographical jurisdiction was a clear indication that the Donald Ramotar regime has no interest in local democracy.
“By this unfortunate and ridiculous act by the regime they are continuing on the path of recentralising power in the hands of this incompetent and corrupt government and depriving people of their right to govern their communities. This is clearly a blow to local democracy,” said Norton.
He contended that the government is pursuing a strategy of subjugating the will of the people to the desire of the PPP/C regime to exercise control over communities, such as Kwakwani, which have rejected the PPP at the polls over the years.
“This PPP strategy that says if we can’t win at the polls we will take power administratively must be rejected by all those who believe in democracy and the right of the people to govern their own communities,” Norton said.
“Clearly, the PPP misses the reality on the ground. It is not the Regional Chairman, Region Ten that should be attacked. It is the govt that needs to reign in its desire to dominate communities that reject the PPP and allow them to vote for an NDC of their choice,” he added
In a statement sent in his absence, AFC Chairman Nigel Hughes said that his party supports the right of the people of Kwakwani to elect their own representatives. “The Alliance For Change condemns the imposition of an IMC by persons outside of the region of Kwakwani. The Alliance For Change will stand behind the people of Kwakwani in their efforts to secure true democracy in their community,” said the message.
Meanwhile, Lewis, who was among those present at the places of poll, applauded the order and unity by residents expressed in the process. “This is very commendable, very commendable and it shows that the residents of this community are united in their call for democracy,” said Lewis.
