By Mario Joseph
Toevlugt/Patentia Neighbour-hood Democratic Council (NDC) is a classic example of the decay of the local government system – its budget for this year is still to be approved and this has curtailed services to the community for the last six months.
The West Bank NDC’s jurisdiction is north-bounded by a trench between Toevlugt and Nismes, south-bounded by a demarcation between Patentia and Vriesland, west- bounded by a demarcation between 8 villages and Cottage and Middlesex and east- bounded by the Demerara River.
The council is responsible for seven schools, one playground, one health centre, one com-munity centre and one burial ground. Its 2014 Budget was set to expend some 25M, with 19M in revenue. The body is governed by 17 of the original councillors elected since 1994 while the 18th has migrated. The Patentia Action Group, a community-based group controls 10 of the