Municipalities, NDCs benefit from equipment to establish ‘help desk,”& support agriculture activities

GINA, GUYANA, Thursday, March 30, 2017

Six Local Government organs received help from the Caribbean Local Economic Development (CARILED) project to support a business facilitation desk at their respective councils. The business facilitation desk will support the scaling up of activities and service which would assist local entrepreneurs to develop small and medium sized businesses within their communities.

The Local Government Councils which are benefitting from the support are the municipalities of Corriverton, RoseHall, New Amsterdam and Linden as well as the Neighborhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) of Mocha-Arcadia and Soesdyke/Te Huis/ Coverden. Representatives from the councils this morning received the equipment at a simple handing over ceremony at the Ministry of Communities in Kingston. Present were Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan, Counsellor, Development Cooperation, Office of the Canadian High Commissioner, Jan Sheltinga and National CARILED Coordinator, Roger Rogers.

The equipment handed over to the local councils comprised a complete computer system, a printer, a work station, a secretarial chair and an office fan.  In addition to the help desk equipment, the Mocha-Arcadia NDC benefitted from a number of farming tools to support the council’s drive towards enhancing their service delivery to the farming community. The support include chainsaws, link chains, motorised knapsack and brush cutters

Minister Bulkan speaking at the exercise thanked the Government of Canada for the considerable support that has been extended and

provided to the local councils under the project. He observed that government process of renewal and empowering the locals councils has been made easier because of the CARILED support.

For its part, CARILED was pleased to support the local efforts to improve the services delivered to citizens. “We recognise that everyone has their part to play in helping to harness the potential for entrepreneurs,” Sheltinga said.

CARILED is a Canadian funded project implemented by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and funded by Global Affairs Canada. The project sought to improve the capacity of local government councils by providing training and technical assistance and piloting ‘quick start, quick win’ initiatives to support small and medium sized businesses within their communities. CARILED was introduced into the local government structure in Guyana in August 2012.

The handing over of the equipment is the culmination of the long and productive effort between CARILED and the six local councils. Rogers explained in August 2016, the CARILED and the six local authorities signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Rogers explained that an integral part of the MOU was the commencement of a Local Economic Development (LED) planning process within the six councils. He said that the outcome of this process was the recognition by the various councils of the need to provide a more enhanced service to the community with regard to support for small and medium-sized businesses. He said that the convergent of the project with CARILED objective made it possible for project to respond in a timely manner by providing the equipment which will realise the establishment of the help desk.

Meanwhile, Mayor of Linden, Carwyn Holland thanked the government for its vision of empowering the local government organs, and for its partnership with CARILED Speaking of the donations he observed that the support will allow for the delivery of a service which was currently nonexistent. “We will now have a facility whereby persons can come into the council and you can have access to various services in one place,” Holland said.

 

By: Macalia Santos