Govt hands over $80M in resources, subventions to Reg 4 NDCs

Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall on Wednesday handed over some $80 million in tractors, trailers, and subventions to nine Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) along the East Coast of Demerara (ECD).
During the handing-over ceremony at the Better Hope Community Centre Ground, the Minister committed to providing financial and other essential resources to every local democratic organ.
“We hope that this shows our commitment as a government and more specifically, President Ali’s vision towards integrating our local democratic organs into our communities in a way that they become more responsive as well as active in ensuring that they’re able to address the concerns of our communities.

“The infrastructure work and heavy lifting that the Central Government is doing in our NDC areas in terms of roads, bridges and health and education facilities shows our deep involvement in ensuring that the lives of people at the local level are improved,” Dharamlall added.
Each NDC will receive one tractor and one trailer to aid in the maintenance of community infrastructure, enhancement of the environment and within the day-to-day logistics of the Council.
The Government also intends for this equipment to be a part of its intervention to ensure communities were kept clean on a more regular basis.
“Clean-up for us is an ongoing [matter] so we’re not using it anymore as an event as in the past, but it has to be a way of work for us and it has to be part of the day-to-day culture of our citizens so we would try as much as possible to work with residents in Georgetown and other local democratic organs across the country to encourage them to maintain their communities,” the Minister said.
While he acknowledged that tremendous strides have been made to improve the cleanliness of communities, he encouraged residents to play their role as well in maintaining their surroundings and by filing formal reports if they notice illegal dumping so that legal action could be then taken.
Dharamlall also shared his expectations of NDCs to work more assiduously to get their respective communities upgraded in conjunction with the Government, Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs), and more so among themselves.
In addition, through the Government’s initiative to provide part-time employment to persons across the country, at least 12 new employees are expected to be placed in each NDC to provide clerical, technical, and operational support.
“Some persons will have a specific type of experience or training and we’d like them to help you to manage your NDCs better,” Dharamlall told the NDC representatives.
“We would like to see this policy and this programme of the Government implemented in each NDC. These persons are supposed to be from within your NDC area and we expect that you’re going to give them the utmost guidance and support,” he added.
The vehicle handover is yet another initiative by the Government to improve the efficiency and reliability of NDCs across the country.
Last Friday, The Government handed over tractors and subventions valued at over $100 million to 14 NDCs in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).