Opposition Leader David Granger yesterday called for an investigation into claims by Plaisance residents to land they say the government is now seeking to possess, while warning that the situation could escalate if nothing is done.
Granger’s call came in light of recent protest action by residents over what they say is an attempted land grab by government as well as the appointment of a new overseer for the Industry/ Plaisance Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC).
Local Government Minister Norman Whittaker has dismissed the residents’ claims to the land and also defended the appointment of the new overseer.
In an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA) on Thursday, Whittaker said, “Contrary to what is being said, the land under question is in fact owned by the Guyana Sugar Corpora-tion, which in fact has no intention to sell it, but instead is now clearing it for use.”
Granger supported the villagers’ protest action and stated that the situation could have been avoided had there been more communication between the government and the residents of the community.
According to Granger, he is unsure whether the shadow minister of local government for the APNU has been in conversation with Minister Whittaker on the situation. However, he noted that the crisis in Plaisance points to “the rotten state of the local government system as a whole” and called for an investigation into the matter.
“The Minister did not see it fit to consult with the residents of the community before these changes were made and as far as APNU [A Partnership for National Unity] is concerned we call for an investigation into the circumstances under which those decisions were made and for greater consultation between the Local Government and Regional Development and the community,” Granger said. He continued, “We have called for more information and we are in general support of the residents of that community and we feel that if there were better communication between the two sides then we would not have had the crisis that we have here.”
Granger also called for an investigation to finally confirm whether the land did indeed belong to the Guyana Sugar Corporation as stated by the government or to the villagers of the community.
“It is not a cut and dry situation,” Granger noted. He went on, “Though it is claimed that the land belongs to the sugar corporation, I think there are historical issues to be investigated, not only in Plaisance; there are other villages with similar complaints and before this spins out of control, I would advise the Govern-ment of Guyana…to have a proper investigation done into what people are referring to as ancestral lands.”
Noting that the matter was a serious and emotional one, Granger stated it can quickly spin out of control if a resolution is not achieved soon.
“What we say is that the matter should be enquired into before decisions are made. Because it can then spin out of control; it hasn’t spun out of control yet. What we’re seeing is not out of control yet,” Granger said.
‘Fair selection’
Meanwhile, Whittaker also said the villagers were “misinformed and misguided” on the appointment of the overseer Orlando Jardine. According to the minister, Jardine was selected “fairly, using a democratic process” and the appointment came following the implementation of standard procedure in all of the 65 NDCs.
“The recent appointment of the Industry/ Plaisance, Unity/Vereenig-ing and Ordnance overseers among others were all subjected to the same requirement,” Whittaker said. He added that vacancies advertising the positions were also placed in multiple local newspapers on various days with all relevant requirements including computer literacy, work experience, and five Caribbean Secondary Examination Council (CSEC) subjects with grades one to three passes.
“The applicants for the positions were all shortlisted and interviewed by a panel comprising a representative from the Ministry, another from the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), Region 4 and another from the respective NDC,” Whittaker stated in the release.
He went on to state that with regards to the Industry/Plaisance appointment, eight persons applied for the position of the overseer and the interviewing panel shortlisted five of these persons to be interviewed. However, on invitation only two of the shortlisted turned up to the interview and after consideration the panel determined that Jardine was the one most suitable for the position, Whittaker said.
Whittaker added that the NDC, based on its finances, could not meet the expected salary of the second applicant.
Residents of the East Coast Demerara (ECD) community were furious that Whittaker had blatantly overlooked their reservations since July that the acting overseer Deborah McDowell was being replaced by a less qualified person.
As a result, they residents turned out in their numbers and successfully blocked the new-appointed overseer from entering the Industry/Plaisance NDC building on Wednesday.
Stabroek News was told that the issues with the current overseer were being manipulated to install a person that would be doing the ministry’s work without regard to complaints or concern by the residents.
However, Whittaker maintained that although McDowell has 15 years of experience within the NDC, she in fact has only been acting in the position for two months, he said. He added that Jardine, besides meeting the outlined requirements, is a second year University of Guyana student pursuing a Diploma in Social Work who also has accounting qualification.
“We cannot set requirements, set standards and compromise those standards. We cannot repose confidence in a set of people to view potential employees, and having done that say to them without good cause that we do not respect and cannot accept your recommendation,” Minister Whittaker said.
Noting the villagers’ consternation at Jardine being appointed despite not being from the community, Whittaker emphasised that there is no requirement which dictates that an overseer must be from the village.
Though he admitted that it would be ideal to have an overseer from within the community, this is not always possible, he said. “There is nothing that precludes any person from any part of the 83,000 square miles of Guyana applying for that position. What is being painted out there is intended to convey that the overseer for Industry/Plaisance must come from Industry/ Plaisance,” Whittaker said.
