Female local govt. candidates tout better healthcare systems, youth development policies

Mar 04, 2016 News

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Female candidates for the upcoming Local Government Elections are clawing their way through the campaign trail with promises to improve healthcare systems and youth development policies for their respective constituencies.
With just 16 days remaining for local government elections, Dr. Dawn Stewart and Feubia Jarvis-Monfort are vigorously campaigning to grab the mantle for constituency 8 and constituency 13, respectively. These women are on a quest to show that a woman’s voice in politics is just as important as man’s, and that it is long overdue for women to have a say in the decision-making process of local governance.
After 21 years, the overdue Local Government Elections was finally set for March 18, 2016. They were last held in 1994, despite the constitution clearly stipulating that they should be held every three years. The extensive delay was due to reforms agreed to by the then People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government and the People’s National Congress with the last bits of legislation passed in 2015.
In an interview with the Kaieteur News on Wednesday, Dr. Stewart pledged to address every issue raised by residents in the communities that she is contesting in. She stated that she had noticed contrary to politics being considered a man’s playing field, women in local governance is not intimidating Stewart said, because traditionally they are more involved in their communities than males and as such they are more informed at making pronouncements concerning their neighbourhoods. She said women’s entrance into local government is an “in road” to building self-confidence for women, thus, she is happy to lead the way.
She said a major part of her campaign is educating women on their role in local governance and showing them why they should vote on March 18.
Dr. Stewart indicated that apart from improving the environment, she had noticed a need for health centres, community centres and mentorship for youths.
“I don’t have promises but I do have a plan,” she asserted, indicating that once in office she would carry out an analysis of issues affecting the neighbourhoods and then prioritise them. She said it is important to involve the people in making decisions for their own communities, and therefore she vowed to engage residents every four months on issues troubling them.
She said fervently, “This is not about me; it is about the people.”
So once elected, she affirmed she would listen to the people, prioritise the issues and advocate on their behalf. “It is about improving the quality of these people’s lives,” she added.
When questioned about challenges encountered on the road to Election Day, Stewart stated that many people believe that local governance was solely about fixing the drainage situation. She said it is a tedious task educating them that there is much more to it.
Regardless, Stewarts plans to focus more on creating health centres and community centres for her constituency, along with after school programmes for the youths. It is significant, she said, that youths are meaningfully occupied after school hours instead of just going to lessons. She has plans for playgrounds, skill programmes, and sports for the youths in these neighbourhoods. She stated that statistics prove that when children are involved in after-school activities they are less prone to engaging in unlawful activities.
She said there is also a need for the formation of a safe space for the elderly in these communities since most of them are neglected and mistreated.
Similarly, Jarvis-Monfort also outlined plans to improve healthcare and foster youth development. She stated that the communities in her constituency are depressed neighbourhoods, and so once elected she would have to battle with a lot of social issues.
“We face unemployment, single parenting and a whole lot of other issues, but we will address it all and engage the people as we move along,” she declared.
She said most of these communities suffer from squatting and overcrowding.
“There is flooding, poor drainage, and health problems and so once elected we will address these issues,” she said. She also promised transparency.
Both Stewart and Jarvis-Monfort are members of the Guyanese Women’s Roundtable, a women’s group that advocates for women’s rights.
Recently, the group voiced their concerns that women are failing to exercise their rights to partake in the decision-making process of the country. They indicated that women should build some confidence and move away from being the elector to being a nominee.
Active member Roslyn Wade had said: “Women in Guyana are the majority of voters, yet we fail to exercise our franchise thus reducing our capacity to leverage our power to change our lives and the lives of our families.”
She stated that the group, though limited by time, seeks to increase the number of women from various communities who are actively informed by and engaged in, local government decision-making. She also noted that the GWR believes that it is necessary that officials create a more inclusive municipal decision-making system, which includes the participation of women from different communities in advisory committees, local agencies, boards, and commissions.
She further asserted that it is just as significant for women to demand a space at the decision-making table and not sit “idly by as decisions are made that affect their lives and the lives of their grand and great grandchildren”.

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