Members of Local Democratic Organs in training to break cycles of crime
─ training sessions being are conducted by USAID
─ covering areas such as promotion of lawfulness through social crime prevention: the role of citizens, community and criminal justice; communication and leadership, understanding domestic violence and youth relationship violence and community awareness outreach
DPI, Guyana, Thursday, April 11, 2019
Councillors of Municipalities and Neighborhood Democratic Councils (NDC’s) are being empowered to address crime-related issues in their respective communities.
The Ministry of Communities, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Community, Family and Youth Resilience (CFYR) Programme, this morning, commenced a two-day engagement session with members of the Local Democratic Organs (LDO’s).
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communities, Emile McGarrel said Guyana’s Constitution has made provision for local government bodies to address social issues such as crime. He said the councillors will now become catalysts of social change.
“The activities of today and tomorrow mark a continued thrust towards redefining the functions of the Local government system, redefining the approach of the leaders to take local governance to the level that it ought to be and the redefining of the perception of the citizens about what local government is.”
As part of their functions, McGarrel said Local Democratic Organs are responsible for preserving Law and Order, giving advice and support to the people and leading by example.
“You are soon to become the catalyst for change in this matter of crime prevention. The workshop is about social crime prevention; training for councillors so that you would be able to interface with the targeted section of your community for which this skill set will become important.”
The training sessions being are conducted by USAID Country Manager, Courtney Brown. It will cover areas such as the promotion of lawfulness through social crime prevention: the role of citizens, community and criminal justice; communication and leadership, understanding domestic violence and youth relationship violence and community awareness outreach.
Alexis Rodney.
Image: Ameer Sattaur.