NA Mayor calls for all-inclusive approach to national development

Oct 13, 2025 News

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By Shermon Hawker

(Kaieteur News) – Mayor of New Amsterdam, Wainwright McIntosh is making a pitch for consistent dialogue and practical coordination with all national stakeholders for the development of not only his township and other local municipalities, but the nation at large, given the tangible resources at the country’s disposal.

The mayor’s call comes from a renewed vigor drawn from his participation in the  27^th InterAmerican Conference of Mayors and Local Authorities, hosted by the Miami-Dade County International Trade Consortium in Miami, Florida on September 29 and 30.

Participating in the major session afforded him direct insights on other local authority systems of many participating countries. Guyana, he summarised, is far from where it ought to be as it relates to properly and sufficiently balancing local democratic organs.

“In the Americas and in the Caribbean, municipalities are furnished with the kind of resources they need to meet the demands of its citizens,” he observed.

The two-day event brought together elected officials across Latin America and the Caribbean Region. The focus areas, according to the conference’s introductory summary, were Artificial Intelligence for Public Sector Efficiency, Green Energy, Economic Development and Bilateral Trade, Tourism Growth, Aviation & Cruise Industry, Disaster Management and other relevant trends.

“These interactions opened possibilities for municipal co-operation and technical exchange in areas such as waste management, tourism and youth empowerment, and partnership with international development organisations such as the OAS, to strengthen institutional capacity and project implementation at the lowest level,” the mayor told this newspaper. While there, he engaged with several representatives, congressmen and congresswomen from Brazil, El Salvador, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic, Miami-Dade, and other nations attending the significant event.

Having had a firsthand account of various guiding strategies and models from several of the more developed countries, McIntosh is inspired to adopt where practical, some of these key policies for New Amsterdam, even as he pushes for a sustained national collaboration on facilitating development across communities.

“The three tiers of government must work in order for us to really and truly transform the municipalities and local democratic organs. Central government, the regional government, the municipalities and NDCs, they must work together in order to effect these changes,” the mayor urged.

A critical takeaway from the conference for the mayor was effective waste management as a top priority for sustainable development.

With regard to the sore issue of waste management in the town, “As you know, New Amsterdam has been significantly challenged over the years with flooding…significantly challenged when it comes to our solid waste within the town of New Amsterdam and illegal dumping and littering on the part of citizens. This has been a challenge,” he acknowledged.

He cited countries like El Salvador and the Dominican Republic, which, according to him, were afflicted with waste management woes, but were able to incorporate initiatives and policies through surveillance and rigid punitive measures to curb littering offenses.

“I find littering to be very offensive. I believe in the clean, well-kept New Amsterdam…the time has come when we must be forceful in implementing stringent measures for violators, persons who decide to throw their garbage here, there and everywhere,” he said, declaring the council’s no-tolerance for littering. Persons have already been placed before the court for such offences.

He also confirmed the Mayor and Town Council (M&TC)’s intention to engage the Regional Democratic Council’s engineer and public works department for assistance with regard to CCTV and other technical support.

In anticipation of the approaching national budget cycle, the mayor is proposing an across-the-board coordination, at every level.

Other key points from the conference retained for consideration and implementation to the town of New Amsterdam were: The benefit of promoting local economic development by supporting innovation, entrepreneurship, tourism, and engaging the youth; and the significance of continuous leadership training for elected officials and senior administrators. On the latter, Mayor McIntosh recounted the tenure of former communities minister Ronald Bulkan, who facilitated an annual conference of mayors and local leaders, which helped to bridge the gap between local and central government.

McIntosh is optimistic that local municipalities, particularly New Amsterdam, could be modeled after those effective methods.

“As mayor, I am extremely humbled for this opportunity to place New Amsterdam on that international platform. We will use this opportunity to network internationally with municipalities in the Americas and across the Caribbean to foster friendship and goodwill, and share best practices in order to effect change for the greater good of every citizen within the town of New Amsterdam,” the mayor expressed.

The municipal leader was accompanied to the conference by Deputy Mayor Kirk Fraser, and Town Clerk, Sharon Bacchus.

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• consistent dialogue, national development, New Amsterdam Mayor, Wainwright McIntosh

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