McIntosh elected Mayor of NA, Murray Mayor of Bartica

Wainwright McIntosh was elected Mayor of New Amsterdam on Friday. He previously served as Deputy Mayor under the Winifred Haywood Mayorship but received the full support of his APNU Councillors for the post of Mayor.
In addition, Kirk Fraser was elected his Deputy after also receiving the full support of his colleagues. However, the 14-seat Council comprises eight members from APNU and six from the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).
The Councillors are Polliann Shultz, Buster Wright, Venessa Benjamin, Jevaughn Stephens, Cordell Austin, Oneika Ramsuchit, Carol Trim, Quacy Issacs, Joel Amsterdam, Nelson Blake, Nicola Luther and Roopchand Singh.

Previously, the APNU/AFC had a combined 11 seats while the PPP had three. In 2016, PPP had only one seat on the Council while APNU/AFC had 13.
Following the elections on Friday, a finance committee was also established. The other committees will be set up at the Council’s next meeting.
Mayor McIntosh said under his tenure, residents of New Amsterdam can look forward to improved management of municipal solid waste as he pledged to work assiduously to ensure residents are provided with the services which are due to them.

Apart from that, he said much attention will be placed on the drainage system within the township.
The newly elected Mayor also pointed to the inability of the staff of the municipality to carry out their functions and responsibilities while emphasising the need for capacity building.
“When our staff is empowered, they are much better able to carry out their functions and responsibilities. Administratively speaking, while we will be looking at things from a policy level, I am looking for more engagement and interaction with residents.”
McIntosh further added that he will have an open-door policy where residents can feel free at any time to approach him with suggestions and concerns.
“Any concerns or queries you may have, feel free to approach the Mayor’s office. My office will be open to facilitate residents and members of the business community.”

He nevertheless called on residents to hold staff accountable. He said municipal staff members are paid to ensure residents of the town of New Amsterdam receive service.
“From the Town Clark right down, I am asking residents to help me to hold the staff, especially the administrative staff, accountable,” the Mayor told reporters after the first meeting of the 5th Council on Friday.
In addition, on Thursday, the towns in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) – Corriverton, and Rose Hall Town, met where the Councils were installed and Mayors and their Deputies selected.
The new Mayor of Corriverton is Iman Amin, who previously served as Deputy Mayor. The new Deputy Mayor is Satyanand Ramraj. In the township of Rose Hall, Dave Budhu was re-elected as Mayor with Roydel Lewis as his Deputy.
In both those towns, the Mayor and Deputy are from the PPP.
Meanwhile, in a historic turn of events, the township of Bartica in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) will now be led by representatives of the PPP following the just concluded Local Government Elections on June 12.
The town’s new Mayor is Anthony Murray, replacing Gifford Marshall of APNU. The Deputy Mayor position went to Gail Ann Persaud, also of the PPP.
Bartica has traditionally been known as a People’s National Congress (PNC)-led APNU stronghold area. Following this year’s elections, both APNU and PPP now occupy nine seats each on the Town Council but the PPP has the popular vote.
Previously, APNU and its Alliance For Change coalition partner held the majority. (Andrew Carmichael)