Minister of Public Service, Sonia Parag said that she was blocked on Tuesday from visiting the Bella-drum Community Centre building by Opposition Member of Parliament Vinceroy Jordan and the Chair of the Community Development Council (CDC) Julian Davids.
She said that the visit stemmed from an outreach by President Irfaan Ali held three weeks ago.
During an interview with Stabroek News, yesterday, Parag said that during the presidential outreach in the community, a resident requested that government look at the Community Centre to determine whether it is feasible to install a library, ICT hub or host training programmes for the youths there. She added that a promise was made to have the area checked out and to determine a way forward.
The Minister said that she visited the community last Wednesday and that the gate to the Community Centre was locked. There were a number of residents there to meet with the Minister.
“The NDC Chair [last week] said he was only aware [that I am coming] earlier in the day or something. I told him I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that I’ll be back on Tuesday [November 8] to look at it and I’m hoping that it will be open at that point,” she related.
Parag said that when she got there on Tuesday, she was greeted by Opposition MP Vinceroy Jordan and she explained the reason for her visit to the facility in the company of both youths and older residents of the community. She said that Jordan then told her that “we don’t want any development here” and at that point residents there started to object to his statement.
The Minister said that Jordan then pivoted saying that development should be channelled through the correct authorities.
“He changed and said that they want development that I need to come through the NDC and the CDC and so on. So I said just for your information, I was here last Wednesday, I tried [and] got the number of the CDC Chairman from the NDC Chairman and called him. As a matter of fact, when I called the phone number, the person picked up the phone and didn’t answer, then it was hung up. Then I called back again. That’s while standing outside of that building last week and it rang out and that is what I told the gentleman [CDC Chair] when I finally met him yesterday [Tuesday] afternoon,” Parag related.
She added that a member of the CDC by the name of Mingo called her on Tuesday to ask if the visit to the community was still on. The Minister related that the woman that made the request to President Ali was present at Community Centre on Tuesday but was denied an opportunity to speak by Jordan.
“I told him [Jordan] I said you can shout from now until next year, but we’re not going to get anywhere. I said I am really here for development. I said come another time, I will walk through the entire community but right now I’m only here to visit the building because somebody made a request in relation to the building. So my position remains the same, our presence in any community is for the community’s development and the people’s development and if people are dealing with us directly, I don’t see the problem,” she explained.
Parag said that she asked Davids if he would allow access to the building so she can make an assessment but that was denied.
“I started to talk to a few of the youths that wanted to find out about scholarships as well. So I went on to talk to them about it and then I walked out of the yard. I was walking out of the yard when Vinceroy Jordan said she better beat out of here or get out or something before we call the whole of Belladrum,” she added.
She said that she will be returning to the community to meet with the youths to ensure that their developmental needs are addressed.
Hijacking
In an almost 15-minute long video message, Jordan sought to explain what occurred at the Belladrum Community Centre while accusing the government of attempting to hijack the facility. He said that the Minister’s visit was facilitated by “operatives” and that she came with an intention “to take control of a community building.”
“The residents in that community worked together with their foreign and governmental partners at that time, during the APNU+AFC government to ensure that the community had a building that could have served the needs of all the residents. I said that to say that the building is a multipurpose community building.
“…the minister came to take the building that was built by the residents and the building that served in the community to hand it over to her PPP friends and cronies. One of the Councilors on the Profit – Rising Sun NDC, the Minister wants to have him have an office in that building. Secondly, the minister wants a PPP operative to house his PPP business and office in that building. So I said to the minister, very clearly, if you’re coming here to do development for the residents, you must have a clear direction and a clear agenda for the residents,” Jordan said.
He said that the building was allegedly broken into to facilitate a visit by President Ali to the community and since then it was closed to facilitate an audit. He added that the building currently houses an office for the community piggery, a library and a craft area to assist the youths in the community.
“The minister failed to consult with the CDC body and have their approval for the use of the building…the residents were not even informed about this act of the minister that she’s coming to do development. It was when the residents recognize that they came to take over the building that the residents said we will call for our representative who is our Member of Parliament for APNU+AFC who will decide with us to represent and say what we need for our community because he was part and parcel of the development to bring what they have today,” Jordan related.
He maintained that at no time did he refuse development to the community.
In response to Jordan’s statement, Parag said that it is all lies since the CDC called her to confirm that she was indeed visiting the facility on Tuesday. In relation to the hijacking of the building, again, Parag said that it was all lies.
“I have no intentions whatsoever setting up any party office. I don’t even know where that came from. The residents he’s talking about were objecting to him because he doesn’t want development and he also said that I had another meeting in the community. I didn’t have another meeting there. Yesterday, my sole purpose for coming up here is what I went up to do there at Belladrum to go and see the building and talk to youths,” the Minister said.
Condemnation
Last evening, President Irfaan Ali said that his government is working on developing a Guyana that is equitable and where every citizen is afforded the development they need. He said that the treatment meted out to Parag is unjustified but added that his government will continue to work in every community to ensure that development is accessed.
“What is bothering is that it seems that some political operative at the behest of a central command has been directed to obstruct the work of the government in different communities, has been directed to create barriers for the government in different communities and I would not give them the credit to say that these are their communities. These communities belong to no one but themselves,” Ali said.
He called on civil society groups to speak out on “a group of people blocking the development of this country.” Ali said that his government will continue to reject the actions of those blocking development in communities and work in the best interest of every citizen.
In a statement condemning the act, the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) laid the blame for the encounter solely at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition Aubrey Norton.
It said that the APNU+AFC is standing in the way of development since it is the residents that sought the president’s intervention to facilitate access to skills training, scholarships and other empowerment opportunities.
“The PNC-led APNU+AFC has demonstrated time and time again that it is incapable of offering meaningful leadership to their constituents or anyone for that matter, and is therefore in its familiar obstructionist mode with racism being its tool of choice.
“…the blame for this worrying development should be laid squarely at the feet of PNC and Opposition Leader Mr Aubrey Norton who has been unabatingly setting a tone of racism and aggression towards the legitimately elected government and its officials,” the party said
Several government ministers also condemned the treatment of their colleague.
