Junior Finance Minister Juan Edghill has accused the elected members of the Region Ten Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of not keeping in touch with their constituents and not engaging the government on their behalf.
Speaking on Tuesday evening at the Bayroc Community Centre Ground, during the final in a series of nineteen meetings, held in various communities within Region Ten over the past month, Edghill said that his assertion is so factual that the engagement between central government and the region is almost non-existent.
According to him, the meetings sought to engage residents so that he was directly informed about the issues that concern them most, particularly those that relate to their community. “We had to have these meetings to engage directly with the residents of Region Ten because the elected representatives of Region Ten are not engaging the government.”
Edghill said the government cannot speak directly to all the people of the country on a daily basis but “society is so ordered … when the country wants to discuss a matter, the elected members of the National Assembly meet.”
Stressing that the 65 members of the National Assembly represent the will, views, hopes and aspirations of the wider country, Edghill explained that this is so “because to be a Member of Parliament one has to be elected by the people to represent the people”.
He further explained that there are ten Regional administrations in the country in which the members of the Regional Democratic Councils comprise elected leaders, who are supposed to represent people at the local level in the respective regions. “Those local leaders are supposed to represent you, give voice to your dream and make known to the government your wishes, your desires and how we could best serve.” According to him, the Region Ten RDC Councillors do not do that.
Reiterating that he would take the residents’ concerns back to the government for them to be addressed, Edghill called on residents of Region Ten to cooperate with the government to foster the country’s economic development and expansion. He also referred to various government initiatives that are aimed at ensuring the country’s continuing economic growth.
