“You are the people’s servants” …Min. Manickchand reminds Region Six local Govt officials

Mar 03, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Priya Manickchand on Friday, cautioned hundreds of local government officials in Region Six against unprofessional and substandard discharge of duties, reminding them that they are servants of the people in communities that repose confidence in them.

At state house in New Amsterdam, Berbice, the minister and her technical team also fielded questions and concerns raised by scores of Neighborhood Democratic Council (NDC) officials, and committed her ministry’s readiness to provide timely and practical resolutions.

Region Six has 19 of the 70 NDCs across the country, all of which had representation on Friday. In addition to lending ear to concerns, Minister Manickchand enlightened officials on the structural and statutory outline of local government. Highlighting the importance of being elected, she admonished too, that councilors should function with a sense of humility.

“I’m here to remind you, that you are here to serve people. You are the people’s servants in your village,” she said.

The minister noted that negligence and complacency at the local level oftentimes give unfair characterisation of the central ministry under which the NDCs and other local democratic organs fall.

Key concerns brought to the minister included personnel deficiency, dereliction of duties and misconduct by officials, and the sore issue of procedural malpractices. On the other hand, several NDCs requested assistance with infrastructural upgrades, among other major issues, which the minister pledged to look into. Some NDCs also received on-the-spot pledges from the minister for the construction of new buildings for their bases.

Should residents of communities seek to access certain basic services or be in the know on critical public service updates, Minister Manickchand challenged the NDCs to function with efficiency so that persons should not have to, in some cases, travel out of the region.

“The purpose was that they don’t have to come and search for Priya in Town, or come and search for the Ministry of Housing, or come and search for the old age pension people. You can be their servants in a localised way…the purpose of the local government, it is to provide localised governance without having people go till to Georgetown every time….instead of making somebody come out of Mara or come out of Black Bush Polder and go searching in town where it’s unfamiliar, where the language might not even be the same, where people feel less confident, you are supposed to be the person who provide that service for them, because you are their government in that local area,” she stated.

The local government minister reasoned that just as how NDCs hold high expectations of central government to fulfill their requests, communities dependent on the local government bodies also have high expectations for day-to-day services.

“What do you want of your central government? You want a government that is responsive, when you tell us you want something, you want to see it done. That’s not what you want? You want a government that listens to you. So, you could meet us, you could speak to us, you could tell us what’s your problem, we could help you with solutions. You want a government that is reachable, you want a government that provides service. Aren’t those the things you want from us? Those are the things you want from us, and those are the things your people want from you,” she emphasised.

NDCs are responsible for the maintenance of infrastructure and facilities, the enactment of bylaws, solid waste management, and essential services within their communities. These organs are supported by annual subventions provided by central government.

In the 2026 National Budget, government allocated $30 million for each NDC, while each municipality received $50 million. These figures represent a massive increase from previous subventions. In addition, an RDC councilor will now receive a $50,000 stipend, up from $30,000, while an NDC councillor gets a tenfold increase of $30,000 from just $3,000 previously received. The chairperson for the NDC, whose stipend was $10,000, will now take home $50,000 while his deputy gets $40,000, an increase from $5,000.

Dr. Josh Kanhi, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Administration) of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, also accompanied the minister. Region Six Regional Chairman Junior Bassant, Regional Executive Officer (REO) Narindra Persaud, Vice Chairman Wajid Khan, and former Regional Chairman David Armogan were also in attendance.

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• NDC, people servants, Priya Manickchand, Region Six

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