With a combination of years of experience and young leadership in the Chairman and Vice Chairman, the Canefield/ Enterprise Neighbourhood Democratic Council will be working around the clock to improve the villages that fall within the NDC with their main goal being to make the lives of residents as “comfortable” as possible.
Following the local government elections, Geron Hitnarine, 52, of Adelphi, East Canje Berbice was elected as the Chairman of the NDC, and twenty-six-year-old Alicia Dowridge, of Canefield, East Canje Berbice, was elected as the Vice Chairman – a combination that is expected to target every level of the communities – and they have already hit the ground running with outreaches within the villages, checking on interlock drains, trenches, bridges, community grounds, school compounds and other areas that may need improvement.
Hitnarine in an exclusive interview with Stabroek News explained that their main goal is to make the lives of residents comfortable explaining that the main issues on the agenda are garbage collection, establishing interlock drains, and cleaning trenches.
Noting, that they have started outreach programmes, Hitnarine who has over 15 years of experience at the level of the council, said, “I want to make a difference with each community… Talk to the residents, hear complaints, and deal with it.”
According to the Chairman, presently they are working to establish the interlock drains within all the communities – as he believes this will assist with any flooding situation that may arise.
Additionally, he said much emphasis is first being placed on cleaning the major trenches within the communities.
Hitnarine stated that while it is understandable that water may lodge during heavy rainfall, he believes that there should be no case where hours after the rain stops water remains on people’s bottom houses and yards.
“We have to establish all the interlock drains, make sure they are up and running, and clear out all the vegetation… We went to the (Canefield) masjid trench that is the main drainage canal for Canefield so we met with the people and I told them who on the reserve would have to move and they agreed and we will dig the trench out straight through with a hymac.”
He continued, “Motie (shop) trench we plan to excavate that also.”
In Gangaram Settle-ment, Hitnarine pointed out that Hindu residents access the Canje Creek through that village to pray, and so a footpath bridge is needed. He also noted, that he plans to develop footpath bridges at Betsy Ground where residents also access the creek, while in Reliance some small bridges need repairing – all of which will be done. “All the roads within the NDC district, we will set them up in order.”
The government earlier this year embarked on a massive road project within Region Six and the Canje area benefitted enormously with a large number of streets being rebuilt.
Garbage collection
Meanwhile, according to the Chairman, another one of his main goals is to establish a proper garbage collection system within the NDC. “Garbage collection, I have to make a difference, before the year out, we have to have a system to pick up garbage from every household right through.”
Stabroek News was told, that presently a census is being carried out to compile a new record as to how many households and residents are within the communities – an initiative that the part-time workers are being utilized for.
Additionally, Hitnarine said that they are working to ensure that all facilities and community grounds within the NDCs are managed properly so that they can be properly utilized by residents, while school compounds are also being maintained.
Touching on his tenure as Chairman, Hitnarine said that he wants it to be one of service to his community, “The government put their trust in me, and of course that feels good so I have to work now. I want residents to have faith, all I want is to be given a chance… I told them (residents) the other day, we have to make a difference, and let us look ahead to what’s to come.”
Meanwhile, Vice Chair-man, Alicia Dowridge, in bringing the young leadership to the NDC – something championed by the present administration, said, “As the Vice Chair-man there are a number of things we would like to get done, new ventures and building on what we already have. For instance, one of the main aspects is ensuring the youths’ involvement… We are looking at hosting workshops to target the communities but mostly the youths on issues such as domestic violence, unemployment, depression and other issues that we notice are affecting residents.”
According to Dowridge, she started at the level of the council in 2018 in her drive to make a difference in her community and was provided a platform by the PPP/C.
In an interview with Stabroek News, Dowridge pointed out that all of the government’s initiatives are “people-centred” and so to keep on this same path it is important to have “discussions on the initiatives that will mostly impact the residents.”
Dowridge stressed, that the first step in her plan is to engage the residents and hear their thoughts on her plan and vision in an effort to tweak it to appropriately fit each village within the NDC. “I would want to be open and engaging to everyone, allow them to make suggestions as we work together to create sustainable communities.”
She said, it’s important to ensure that the youths of the communities are engaged and given a chance to be a part of the decision-making process as well as the process to develop ideas to improve their communities, “we need to include our youths, eventually, we are looking to establish groups and clubs which will also have an impact of the lives of the youths.”
Dowridge stressed, that in order for their holistic approach to work, there must be collaboration with the NDC, residents, and central government. “I am glad to be given a chance to serve and I plan to utilize all resources at my disposal to work to improve the communities in every aspect.”
