YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO CHOOSE YOUR OWN COMMUNITY GOVERNMENT

Mar 13, 2016 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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Local government is defined as people having the authority to make decisions or pass laws in a small geographic area near to them.  In Guyana, local government is the town council, the Neighbourhood Council, or the council of village elders.  They make up the community government and they manage the affairs of the city, a town, district or village with direct input from the people living there.
Briefly, the function of local government is to create the environment for peace, order and cleanliness, to provide facilities for recreation, to assist citizens with the requirements to start up large or small businesses, to intercede on their behalf with national institutions, and to ensure the smooth conduct of business.  Education also falls under Local Government’s purview.
Among other things, the neighbourhood or district council ensures that school buildings are properly maintained and rehabilitated when necessary, that teachers and staff are available, and that students are able to access learning material from municipal libraries, electronically, or by sharing.
The municipal, neighbourhood and village councils should not restrict themselves to roads, rates and rubbish.
Some services and functions are discretionary, i.e. a council can choose to provide them but does not have to, or they may require Government or the private sector’s input. These range from large revenue generation projects, arts and entertainment activities, sport and recreational facilities and some pest control services.
Individual neighbourhood councils can determine what they need to do to ensure that peace, order and healthy living are in place and maintained.  Essentially each council makes its own decisions based on the advice it receives, based on financial considerations, and on their own developmental programmes.
Please, select a Candidate you can trust.  Get familiar with their positions on the issues that are dear to you.  Make sure you know about his/her leadership abilities, and ask your neighbours their opinions.  Come together and choose the candidate and party that you KNOW will work to make your lives better.  The APNU+AFC are proving that WE CAN and WE WILL.
We have been dealing effectively with a long list of national problems, issues and physical conditions that had been allowed to fester for more than 20 years.  We have only just begun to implement the programmes and projects needed to restore all of Guyana to what it used to be.  Just look around and you’ll witness the beginning of the progress that APNU+AFC has made.
While it is nearly impossible to fix everything immediately or all at once, this party is determined to do whatever it takes within the parameters of the law to give our people back their dignity and pride in themselves, in their communities and country.
In nine months we have begun to lay the groundwork for a proper national education system; for the introduction of advanced technology all across the nation; for the development of a tourism industry that is driven by the PEOPLE; for the upgrading of our national infrastructure such as airstrips, bridges and stellings; for inclusive housing development; for the good life for every Guyanese.
You have been involved all the way and now you will have again the power to determine what goes on in your communities.  All we ask is that you choose wisely come 18th March when you vote for your local government.
Please bear in mind that you should choose the persons and parties that you could trust to deliver on their promises and on your demands for a clean, well ordered environment, excellent conditions for your children to grow and learn in, and business ventures for the youths to secure jobs in.
Unfortunately you were taught to depend on the government for everything, so they made every decision for you, which most often was not for your benefit.  The previous government fired the neighbourhood councils you had before and imposed Interim Management Committees made up of their party members, people who did not belong to your communities and so were not interested in improving your life or your livelihood.
That stops on 18th March!  The APNU+AFC government is putting back into YOUR hands the power to determine how your community should be cleaned and kept clean; where the playgrounds for your children should be sited and how it will be upkept; how street lights should be acquired and where they must be put up; the makeup of the PTA in your children’s school; and everything else that concerns the affairs of your community.
When you take control, very soon thereafter you will be able to see the potential for development that exists right inside your community.  Do you remember (or do you know) that Guyana used to be called the breadbasket of the Caribbean many years ago?  We still have the same resources, you just have to take control of them!
It will be YOUR decisions that tell your neighbourhood councils that the community will no longer tolerate garbage piles, no more potholes, that the community needs street lights, and that they have to be the connection between you and the Ministry of Public Health to fog and sanitize your surroundings to protect your family from the Zika virus.  Of course, you are responsible for keeping your own yards and parapets free from refuse that could hold water or dew.
Take control of your neighbourhoods and reject those who come to sow seeds of disunity, those who try to turn you against your neighbour because of one difference or another. We all work towards the same goals and almost everyone would have a contribution to make.  COHESION is the key to Guyana’s growth.
We encourage you to turn out in your numbers on 18th March and vote solidly for the APNU+AFC. Our symbol is the key in the palm of a hand. Our colours are green and yellow. We urge you to choose UNITY instead of division. Vote for a better life, better services, a responsible local government and the end of corruption.
It’s all up to you next Friday.  A strong community government is the gateway to a good life and the vehicle to clean and safe communities.

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