The Stewartville/Cornelia Ida Neighbourhood Dem-ocratic Council (NDC) does not have funds to carry out needed repairs to some of Cornelia Ida’s roads, according to Chairman Jainarine Narine.
Narine, in a telephone interview with Stabroek News, related that the NDC recently repaired the main access roads to the West Coast Demerara housing scheme and had made plans to facilitate repairs to other roads but it has been unable to commence works as it is low on funds.
Narine added that the NDC is low on funds because residents have not been paying rates and taxes. He further said that they have tried to do as much as they can with the limited amount of money and resources they have. He noted that the NDC has held meetings with residents about raising the taxes, which would help the NDC to better maintain the community. Narine related that the residents agreed to an increase but they have not yet started paying.
“The residents are the ones that have the road like this, because when they start to build their homes they’re not bringing in materials with small trucks, they’re using those big heavy-duty trucks,” he said. He further stated that they have written to the Regional Democratic Council for assistance but to date have not received a response.
Asked about abandoned vehicles that line some of the community’s roads, Narine told Stabroek News that the NDC has done all that is required to get the owner of the vehicles to move them. “The next step would be to take the individual to court but we don’t have the money to pay for lawyers,” he explained, while saying he believes that something should be done for NDCs to receive free legal assistance.
