Mahaicony River residents want NDC

Residents of communities along the Mahaicony River are seeking to have a Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC).
The communities of WW, New Providence, Mortice and Esau and Jacob on the left bank of the Mahaicony River have about 200 households, with a population of about 500.
The intention was made known to Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, who visited the area on Saturday last.
Head Teacher of Mortice Primary, Inderjeet Persaud, who attended a meeting which was held with farmers over the weekend, pointed out that the community is not a part of an NDC and as such does not benefit from Local Government subventions.
“There are many other communities that would benefit [from] NDC and Town Councils and we are happy for that but we feel that the time has come for the Government to ensure that something is done to rectify that situation,” he explained to the Agriculture Minister.
The school teacher said if the communities cannot be placed into a Local Government body at this time, then mechanisms can still be put in place for them to benefit from Government’s subventions.
“We want to form a Village Council until we can be placed into the local authority. So that as we get ourselves organised, we too become beneficiaries of everything that our Government has to offer. We recognised that over the years the Government has been very helpful; not the previous one,” he disclosed.
The Agriculture Minister said he has no doubt that a Community Development Committee (CDC) can be set up and through that, they can access Government funds.
“The CDC can do work in the community. In the meantime, we will have to have discussions. I am going to ask the Attorney General whether it is possible to make this area into an NDC and I will ask the Minister of Local Government to come and have discussions with you. In the meantime, I will ask for the Director of the CDC to come and form a CDC Council,” Mustapha said.
He added that the Council must be broad-based. That Council will be able to seek funding from Government and also from funding agencies. Mustapha noted that Government can facilitate the community securing funding for developmental projects. (G4)