Massive financial boost as municipalities subventions now $50M, NDCs’ $30M

…as Govt equip local bodies for better services

Vice President (VP) Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has announced sweeping increases in Government’s subventions for local Government organs, which he says will equip these municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) to deliver better services.
With these increases, every NDC will now receive $30 million as their new annual subvention, while each municipality will receive $50 million. Previously, NDCs received subventions of about $5 million, while municipalities received about $18 million.

The VP made the announcement on Friday during a meeting with some councillors and other representatives of the 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs) across Guyana, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.
“We want to equip you with the tools that ensure that going forward, apart from what we focus on at the national level, that you can deliver better services,” Jagdeo said to stakeholders, adding “So, we expect this money to be well-spent.”
Since taking office in 2020, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration has been injecting resources into the various local Government bodies to enhance their ability to service citizens. In fact, the Agriculture Ministry is currently in the process of acquiring 68 excavators to be distributed to some of the NDCs and townships.
Nevertheless, the substantial increase in subventions announced on Friday was part of a Manifesto promise made by the PPP/C.

Local Government and Regional Development Minister, Sonia Parag, told the Guyana Times on Friday that they have been incrementally increasing the subvention to these local Government bodies over the years.
According to Parag, “This is the biggest increase we’ve ever done because if you check for the NDCs, it is several hundred per cent. So, it’s a massive increase and unlike anything we’ve ever [done]. And in addition to the subvention, we’re also equipping them with various equipment like garbage trucks and mini-excavators – allowing them to utilise their finances to benefit the communities in terms of [doing] drainage [works and so on].”
The Local Government and Regional Development Minister explained that they are working with these local Government organs to ensure that the distribution of these funds is done in a timely manner. As such, the NDCs and Municipalities have been asked to submit an extended work programme for 2025 to show how the increased funding will be spent.
Parag further noted that while this is intended to be a means to hold these bodies accountable, Government will not be withholding the subvention for those that do not make the submissions.
“We’re really looking to wrap this up to and make sure that they have the money. And the reason why we’re doing it early is to make sure that they are in a better position to start their work programmes and complete it before the year is out…”
“We do not intend for it to be a lengthy process or a bureaucratic process… So, we’re working with them directly, myself and Minister [within the Local Government Ministry, Anand Persaud], so that there is no bureaucracy in terms of them uplifting their money,” the Minister noted.
Parag went on to say that her Ministry will be monitoring the spending to ensure that not only is the money accounted for, but also whatever project is undertaken by the NDCs and municipalities that they are completed.
While the Ministry is awaiting most of these local Government organs to submit their work plans, the Minister noted that some of the projects that the increased subvention will towards include community beautification initiatives, removal of derelicts, infrastructure maintenance and procurement of equipment.
“So, we don’t want them to just fix a pothole, we want them to maybe look into investing in an equipment that they will have permanently to do work in the community,” Minister Parag stated.