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Region Eight Council office in need of a computer system – Chairman
Region Eight Chairman, Mark Crawford, is demanding an explanation as to why the office where he carries out his duties is not furnished with a fully operating computer system.
Region Eight Chairman Mark Crawford
Crawford has, over time, been making use of the local media to voice his concerns over the lack of resources provided to that Region; including finances to rehabilitate and maintain roadways that are critically in need of repair.
According to the Chairman, prior to his assuming the post in January 2012, his office had been equipped with a typewriter, used to produce critical correspondences that are then sent out to Ministers and other officials concerning the Region.
He said that even at that point, it was obvious that the typewriter needed to be replaced, as it would often malfunction. Much to his dismay, just months later the machine broke down entirely.
Crawford said that from that time until present, he has been forced to venture out to Internet Cafés in order to type letters, spending $400 for each hour he spends using a computer system. This, he said, occurs on a daily basis.
Further compounding the already depressing situation is the fact that after every Regional Democratic Council (RDC) meeting, held every three months, the Chairman is tasked with creating correspondences to inform the relevant Ministries and agencies of the decisions made concerning the Region. For this purpose, Crawford said, about 15 letters have to be typed up and sent out.
He said that the monies used to carry out this task are exclusively out of his pocket.
The Chairman said that he has made several requests to be provided with a complete computer system to the Region’s Executive Officer, Ronald Harsaywack, and even at the level of the Local Government and Regional Development Ministry, but to no avail.
He said that he firmly believes that the situation reeks of politics, claiming that the offices of his counterparts in regions that are controlled by the ruling party are fully equipped with computers and other components needed in an office. During the January 2011 General and Regional Elections, the Alliance For Change, which has seven of the 33-seat Opposition majority of the National Assembly, won control over Region Eight.
“I see this as another firm example of the apartheid system that they (Government) are practicing,” Crawford asserted.
Meanwhile, speaking to Kaieteur News on the matter was Minister within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development Norman Whittaker who said he is aware of the requests made by the Regional Chairman for a computer system and an effort was made to get one for him. However, this was to no avail.
“We don’t have a set of computers laid in a room so that as soon as a request is made we can pull one from there. As far as our information goes, we were not able to provide him with one,” the Minister said.
The broken typewriter
He explained that a likely reason is that the Ministry would have budgeted earlier for systems for specific officers or agencies.
“If other requests come in during the course of the year, we would have to try to source it from elsewhere,” he said.
The Minister said that the suggestion was put to the Regional Chairman to include the request for a computer to be procured for his office in the 2014 budget proposals for the Region. He added that requests of that sort are not confined to the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development and as such, Mr. Crawford could have approached the Ministry of Finance to source a computer system for his office.
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