Five persons including a disc jockey and a businessman are seeking to represent East and West Ruimveldt on the Georgetown City Council.
Contesting the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) race for constituency 13 in Georgetown in the local government elections tomorrow are Feubia Jarvis-Monfort for the Guyana Nation Building Corps; Serettee McAllister for Benschop for Mayor; Ronson Enoe for Team Legacy; Sally Andrea Austin as an independent candidate; Winston Harding for the APNU+AFC coalition and Purshotam Gobin for the PPP/C. (An earlier version of this story included incorrect information on Gobin.)
All the candidates expect Austin stand a chance of sitting in the council even if they do not win the FPTP voting as they are on their parties’ list under the Proportional Representation component.
Jarvis-Monfort, 60, a retired nurse told Stabroek News that she decided to participate because she believes she can express her passion and help build her community.
Plans for her constituency, she said, include regularisation of the squatting area, providing clean drains and maintenance of parapets and creating jobs. Jarvis-Monfort added that she would like to create a sub-committee to help address the issues affecting the residents. She said she is also working along with her team to promote recycling of solid waste. She would also advocate for reforming of the municipal laws along with making City Hall efficient and transparent.
According to the retired nurse, she has helped with getting cleaning contracts in the area before and would continue to do so.
Asked how she intends to fund the proposed projects, Jarvis-Monfort said she would look at funding from international donor agencies, voluntary labour and City Hall. She described the campaign as “good” and said they have been working to ensure that they touch base with everyone.
Wings
For McAllister, participating in local government elections means he has an opportunity to “spread his wings.” He explained that he has been involved in development efforts for several years in his community. With the elections, he said, he will be able to reach out to other communities in the constituency.
Well known as ‘Selector Face,’ McAllister, a disc jockey, related that he would like to implement a slow- learners programmme to aid students who are performing poorly at school. He said he would seek to get teachers to give back to the community by tutoring students one-on-one after school.
McAllister disclosed that he would also like to create recreational sports clubs for cricket, basketball and football for the constituency. He added that he would like to have the community offer swimming classes and make free spaces child-friendly. “Within the community there are some free spaces we can make it into spaces for the children to play,” the man said, emphasising that he wants the children to grow up in a peaceful community. The aspiring councillor added that he would also like to see the standards of society return and would work with the youths to help restore these standards.
McAllister, who is also a broadcaster, further said he would push to have health services and pension payments be made more easily available to the elders of the community. “I want to work with the Ministry of Social Protection to bring these services closer to the elders. Some of them you know can’t make it to the hospital and wait for hours so if we have the services come to their home that would be easier,” he explained.
Asked how his plans would be funded, McAllister said he would urge the residents to engage in giving back by volunteering their labour to aid with community projects. The DJ said he would also seek funding from non-governmental organisations and businesses.
The Benschop for Mayor member said he has been campaigning one-on-one and reaching households to discuss his plans and gain their support.
Approached
Meanwhile, when approached for a comment, Harding refused to speak to Stabroek News. This newspaper had reported that Harding is facing allegations of child molestation and APNU yesterday withdrew its support for him.
Enoe asked to be contacted later when approached but subsequent efforts to get him were futile. Austin was not available for comment.
