New PPP LGE candidates want to see change in New Amsterdam

New candidates on the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic’s (PPP/C) list to contest the 2023, Local Government Elections (LGE) in New Amsterdam, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) say there are there because they want to see change in the town.

The candidates say services offered by the municipality to residences have not been what residents have been expecting for decades.
As a township New Amsterdam is 231 years old making it by far the oldest town in the country and as a municipality it is 131 years – also the oldest in the country.
The town council has always been under the majority rulership of the Peoples National Congress (PNC) which for years occupied 13 of the 14 seats with the PPP one.

When Local Government Elections were last held in 2018, the PPP was able to secure three seats and under a new name A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) – the PNC led coalition which entered the elections as a partner with the Alliance For Change (AFC), 11 seats.
The PPP has since said that it is aims to change the leadership of the council.
One of its candidates Juanita Burrows who is a new face says the overall goal is to ensure that the town experiences development. The same view was expressed by another candi-date Nicola Luther
Burrows said there has been neglect of the town for decades. Basis infrastructure she said needs to be improved as she made mention of the Stanleytown cemetery which remains in a run-down state. Most of the tombs have been covered with heavy overgrowth. The cemetery is under the control of the municipality and over the years for a price person have been able to bury their loved ones on selected spots; even on the walkways- some of which have now become inaccessible.
“The important thing is not to keep New Amsterdam down but to let people see a trans-formation in our community. We want clean drains; good street lights and we also want a very clean cemetery. We all have loved ones there. This will be one of our main focuses and we will also make sure that every part of New Amsterdam is clean and healthy,” The PPP’s candidate for Constituency Five said.
Meanwhile, Luther said there is a need for a change while noting that she wants to be a part of that change.

“I want to enhance the community because community development is our main focus and I know that with my intellect and experience, I have a basic understanding of the the-ory and also living in the town, I have observed a lot of things that have been happening over the last few years and so I know that I can make a change.”
Guyana Times attempted interviews some APNU councilors also vying for election in New Amsterdam but they were a no-show for a scheduled interview with this publication.
Both Luther and Burrows were known to be sympathetic towards APNU. Burrows said she was expecting APNU to being development to the town of New Amsterdam when it was in government.
“After those five years, I see no development; the streets are bad, there are no street lights, the cemetery is in a state, and garbage is being bumped all over. I took the decision after being dissatisfied with the work of our government, I decided to make the change.”
Luther on the other hand said her decision to leave the coalition behind was not appre-ciative of the support she wanted to offer.
On Nomination Day, APNU’s election agent Jevaughn Stephens told this publication that the Central Government has been playing play politics with New Amsterdam as he ac-cused the government of deliberately stymieing the development of the town.
This Stephens said makes the town council look “politically bad”, as he called on the gov-ernment to ensure the town of New Amsterdam gets what it should.
However, the head of the candidate list for New Amsterdam Phillip Rose assured that un-der a PPP led town council, there will be development.
“Garbage, overgrown bushes, and the drainage which have been left unattended – we will change that. We want people to know that whatever we promise to people we are going to fulfill. I want to make this clear that we will be working with the government to make sure that these things happen,” Rose committed. (G4)