Linden women empowered to undertake local governance roles – Fourth regional GWLI workshop hosted

DPI, Guyana, Friday, May 11, 2018

With Local Government Elections (LGE) quickly approaching, the Guyana Women’s Leadership Institute (GWLI) is ensuring that Linden women are empowered to play pivotal roles in local governance.

The Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice) women were equipped with the requisite skills at a two-day capacity building workshop, which aims to strengthen women, actively involved in community development. The training exercise which ran from May 10-11, saw the participation of about 40 women.

Delivering the feature address at the opening ceremony was Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, who also has responsibility for Linden. The minister, in her presentation, noted the need for women to play leadership roles in local government because of the unique qualities they possess.

“We are very strategic in ‘fine tuning’; we have the patience to deal with issues and wait for the end result., That is why we are mothers and that is why it is so important that women be part of decision making. These values we bring to table make a difference,” she said.

The women were encouraged to make full use of the opportunity of being included in the local governance process. Minister Broomes gave anecdotes of being shut out in previous years and her satisfaction with the return of local democracy that now allows women to sit at the head table.

“For twenty-something years in Guyana, there was no room for women in the system to actually be able to give an input because there was no local government election and no local system to give an input, so today, you are most lucky and more important,” Broomes said this government believes that the involvement of women in the decision-making process is vital, and this has been demonstrated with several high ranking female appointments.

Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Protection, Adrian Ramrattan, in his address said “many women are now, branching into owning micro-enterprises, especially with the assistance of the Ministry of Social Protection…it is imperative that training of this nature and institutions such as GWLI continue to push barriers as we fight for gender equality and ‘press for progress.”

Ramrattan pledged the ministry’s support to assist in the development of women in Linden. “Gender parity is among top priorities for the Ministry of Social Protection and it is with this in mind that the Ministry continues to empower women. GWLI plays a vital role in this regard.”

GWLI which falls under the purview of the Ministry of Social Protection is committed to the achievement of gender parity and the inclusion of women in decisions that affect their communities, families and their lives.

Similar workshops were held in Regions Four, Five and Six.

 

By: Vanessa Braithwaite.