Whim residents protest for removal of NDC Chairman

… “I never promised anyone”
– NDC chair, says formal application process in place

Residents of Whim and surrounding villages on the Corentyne in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) on Thursday staged a picketing exercise outside of the Whim-Bloomfield Neighbourhood Democratic Council office, calling for the chairman to step down.
The residents claim they were promised small business cash grants, but their names were not included on the list that was submitted to Government.
On Saturday, small business owners in Region Six were given grants of $200,000 each to assist them in their various business ventures. Distribution of the business grants coincided with National Small Business Week, which concluded on Saturday.
In total, 700 small business owners in Region Six have received a combined sum of $140M.
However, during the protest on Thursday, persons said they were promised the grant but did not receive same, adding that they were also not included in Government’s part-time jobs initiative despite the NCD being informed of their interest.
One resident of Bloomfield Village, Roopdai Latchman, said as a single parent she was expecting to receive the grant to help her develop her small business.
“We want him to go! He has to go!” she said in referring to the NDC Chairman.
Another resident said her husband had submitted his name to the chairman to be included on the list, and was promised that he would be one of the recipients of the business grant, but on Saturday last he found out that his name was not on the list.

“I never promised anyone”
Newly-elected Chairman of Whim-Bloomfield NDC, Omeshwar Sirikishun, who took office two weeks ago, has denied the allegations levelled against him. He said he does not have the final say as to who collects the business cash grant.
“I never promised anyone that they will get the grant. We only make recommendations for persons to get assistance,” he said, while explaining that meetings were held and persons who needed assistance were recommended.
“…but the final decision was made by the Regional Administration. There were 25 recommendations, and those persons would have received. With regards to the ten-day workers, again, I don’t have a final say. There is an application process where persons complete their application, and once a vacancy exists, the region would call them and they would get onboard. So, anyone who is desirous of being a part of the ten-day programme, they need to go to the Region and have their application processed,” he explained.
The NDC Chairman said he had advised persons of the criteria needed in order to be a part of the programme.
Nevertheless, a meeting was subsequently convened with the aggrieved residents, who were told that those who are part of the Government’s part-time job initiative were not eligible for the grants.
Latchman said there are cases involving about three persons from one household who are employed under the part-time initiative and also received the grants.
Several of the residents claim that persons who are a part of the Government’s 10-day part-time work programme received small business cash grants on Saturday.
Meanwhile, inside sources told this publication that the protest was orgainsed by officials from the NDC, who were not re-elected.
About 26 persons from each of the 19 NDCs in the region received the $200,000 business grant on Saturday, while 200 from the town of New Amsterdam were given the cash grants. (G4)