NDC officials warned against issuing illegal approvals, stalling payments

Having received multiple complaints against the allegedly illegal actions of officials of various Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDC), Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall has warned that appropriate measures would be taken against perpetrators, should they refuse to desist.
Dharamlall made this comment on Wednesday during a handover ceremony for NDCs within Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).
“Construction [is] going on in different NDCs, and I get reports that councillors [are] giving permission over and above the Council and without the knowledge of the overseer. I have complaints [that] the sanitary officers or the environmental health officers are issuing approvals without the knowledge of Councils,” Dharamlall stated, while adding that there are also concerns with overseers illegally signing documents.
He also mentioned that several NDCs are refusing to take action against the establishment of shacks and illegal vending on reserves.
“When you break the law, you will face the consequences; and the law has to do with the overall development of our communities. There are certain things that are allowable, and there are some things that are not allowed at all,” he noted.
In January 2023, overseer of the 52-74 NDC, Ravindra Dass, was fired on account of several instances of questionable activities, including the alleged issuing of fake receipts to cattle owners for the release of impounded animals, the soliciting of funds for Christmas parties for children, and the removal of sand from Number 63 Beach and subsequently selling it to contractors without recording it in the NDC’s financial documents.
As part of the additional support that the Government is giving to NDCs on the administrative, technical, and operational levels, Croal said, each NDC should have a database of the issues that have been raised within them, and how they are handled accordingly. “This will be a part of the appraisal of the administration of the NDCs, from the overseers to the other staff,” Croal said.
The Local Government Minister further condemned the work of District Development Officers (DDOs), particularly on the East Bank of Demerara, who are reportedly holding up payments of several community members.
“Local Government in the Regional Democratic Councils are to go into communities to ensure that our work is being done, that people’s issues around projects are resolved… They’re supposed to go and get the residents involved in the projects. That is their duty as Local Government, not to sit in an NDC and bully overseers into [completing] paperwork.”
He also reminded the Chairs of Councils of their duty to maintain decorum within their administration.
“You have a mandate, and your mandate is not to yourself, but to what you are elected for; and that is to make sure that your communities are [run] in an egalitarian, equitable way… We work on a One Guyana platform. We would like to see no discrimination of any of our villages and no victimisation (of) any resident of our villages,” Dharamlall posited.