Over the last three years the Beterverwagting/Triumph Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) has done a lot of things. Depending on who you speak with those things are either really progressive or really outrageous but everyone agrees the Council has done a lot. Its members are now ready for this year’s local government elections (LGE).
“I think we are ready for LGE. We are very ready,” PPP/C Councillor Neville Cumberbatch told Stabroek News.
Cumberbatch who chaired the Council’s Works Committee told this newspaper that he was most proud that during his two terms at Council they were able to work with two different central governments to repair most of the roads in the BV/Triumph area.
“My favourite projects are definitely the roads. We were able to get Quamina Street which was not repaired for 15 years rehabilitated and even now BV Sideline dam is being repaired with revetment,” he excitedly shared.
He noted that even though there have been numerous challenges, he feels proud to walk around the community and get a thumbs up from those villagers who have been positively affected by the road works.
He stressed that in his experience both the APNU+AFC and PPP/C central governments were receptive to NDC projects possibly because the Council always approached the Minis-tries with a full proposal including an impact assessment.
“Each time we gave an entire analysis of the condition of the road and its impact including the number of persons and businesses affected. In the last three years alone the APNU+AFC has repaired Plantain Walk and a Section of Oronoque Street. When the new government came into power we approached them about the Sideline dam and the Minister examined the proposal and visited the site then approved the project,” the Councillor explained.
Fellow PPP/C councillor and NDC Vice-Chairman Lalloo Tekchand is just as pleased that the main streets in Triumph have been repaired over the last year.
Tekchand who has been on the Council since 1994 said that he is very happy with the environment in BV/Triumph as the roads are being repaired and the area regularly cleaned.
The overseer was able to get most of the trenches cleaned while the workers employed with the Community Infra-structure Improvement Project (CIIP) have focused on the small drains and parapets.
“Environment is very good in terms of parapets, trench and drainage systems,” he stressed while noting that there has recently developed an issue with garbage collection as “mechanical problems” have forced the NDC to contract Cevon’s Waste Management to provide collection services.
Compactor
BV/Triumph is one of few NDCs which own their own compactor truck and are therefore able to collect and dispose of their own garbage.
In 2018 when Stabroek News visited the community residents were very pleased with the service being provided. Blue bins donated by FibreTech Industrial Plastics dominated the landscape and the Council has just spent its $4 million government subvention on a garbage compactor.
The community was clean, residents were happy and business were happily providing materials for projects such as the repair of several small bridges.
All of this positive growth was credited to the 8th May Movement (8MM) the Indepen-dent Group which led the Council at the time.
Today the 8MM has been significantly sidelined. While Cumberbatch, Tekchand and NDC Chair Jimmaul Bagot all effusively claim the Council is working together to achieve the goal of a better BV/Triumph the 8MM has accused the APNU and PPP/C of forming an enclave which makes decisions without their input and more importantly without the input of villagers.
“They need to be out of there. Political parties should not be in village affairs and they have split this village,” Elton McRae said on behalf of the movement.
McRae is in a unique position in that he does not actually sit on the Council even though his group has identified him to take up one of the four seats.
The seat in question was previously held by 8MM leader Letitia Stuart and became vacant after Stuart was voted out following a three-month unexplained absence.
McRae stressed that while Stuart’s absence was legitimate she acknowledged that she erred in not writing to the Council rather than relying on a “word of mouth” excuse.
Rather than fight the vote the 8MM wrote to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) seeking to have the Proportional Representation seat filled only to be informed that the NDC overseer had not informed the Commission of an existing vacancy. This persisted for nearly a year but as of April 2021, McRae possesses a letter identifying him as a PR Councillor of BV/Triumph. He has however not yet been sworn in.
Dropped the ball
Speaking on garbage collection McRae said the Council has dropped the ball.
“They own two trailers and a compactor truck yet only one works at a time because there is only one equipment operator so the service is subpar,” he shared
He explained that in one instance there was a near six-week cessation of garbage collection because the operator was ill and the Council did not have money to pay an independent contractor.
“They are not maximizing the use of equipment,” he lamented.
He acknowledged that there has been significant rehabilitation of roads in the villages but questioned the Council’s leasing of roads and distribution of lands.
“They leased a road not once but twice and when I wrote to the Council asking for an explanation of the project and asking whether they had sought a change in land use no one responded,” McRae said.
The project in question is the construction of a vendors’ arcade at Company Path, Triumph by Afraz Mohamed.
Currently the matter is before the High Court as the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commis-sion (GL&SC) is seeking to have Mohammed expelled from what it claims is state land.
NDC Chair Bagot had previously told Stabroek News that the NDC was told by the GL&SC in 2019 that the area belongs to the council.
“We received correspondence signed by Manager of Surveys, R. Duesbury, which concluded that the land is controlled by BV/Triumph. It made no mention that this was state land or that it was owned by anyone other than the BV/ Triumph NDC,” Bagot stressed.
He contended that on the basis of this assurance from the GL&SC they entered into a 20-year lease agreement with Mohamed and are now gobsmacked at the legal challenge.
The NDC has now been added to the action at their request.
McRae believes these actions from leasing of a gazetted road to being made a party to the Court action are simply not in the interest of residents.
Also not in the interest of residents is the “leasing” of a part of “Batta Road” to Gafoors Industries Limited.
“It’s a road. How do you lease a road to company allowing them to gate that road preventing residents from using it,” he questioned.
In this case McRae and Bagot are actually on the same page.
“The Council never gave Gafoors permission to put up that structure. That is an illegal structure let me make that very clear,” Bagot said of the project adding the Gafoors cannot claim the NDC ever gave permission.
According to Bagot the company was granted exclusive right to use the road way since they own the land on both sides of a “dead end road”.
They approached the Council in 2017 for a lease to utilize the roadway and we granted them that right but they never applied for permission to build any structure.
“They know they would have to come in, bring proof of ownership, bring in a construction plan, a survey plan. They have to apply like anyone else and once the Council approves, the Environmental Health Officer approves then Central Housing (and Planning Authority) still has to approve. They never went through those avenues…that is an issue I would’ve written the RDC and Ministry about. The Ministry of Local Government has not responded,” he shared, explaining that he has sent Gafoors a cease order and though they have stopped construction there have been no attempts to dismantle the structure as requested.
The PPP/C Councillors are not on the same page with Bagot in this case.
Though Cumberbatch acknowledged that the Council did not approve the construction he said his personal opinion is that Gafoors should be allowed to complete the construction.
“Any businessman would want to protect his or her assets…you are talking about an industrial site and a businessman who owns both of the last plots. There is a difference between an industrial site and a residential area. We can’t treat an industrial site like an industrial area,” he said.
Tekchand claims that a decision was made to grant Gafoors permission to do the construction.
“Now with residents very much annoyed there is ongoing dialogue and discussion to bring that matter to an amicable solution”.
The long-time council member also differs with his colleagues about what is the best project they have instituted. For him the best is the New Generation Housing Scheme where 21 villagers have been allocated plots.
Tekchand is very excited about this project even as the Central Housing and Planning Authority has refused to approve the 80×34 feet plots as residential plots.
