Region Three NDCs welcome $35M subvention

Fourteen (14) Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) on Wednesday received a total of $35 million in subvention from the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development to facilitate community infrastructure and other projects.

The cheques were handed over to chairpersons during a simple ceremony at the Regional Democratic Council office in Region Three, by Minister, Nigel Dharamlall.

Minister Dharamlall reiterated government’s commitment to community development across the country.

“President Ali, is very serious about community development. As a matter of fact, all the investments that his government is making really is for the upliftment of our communities, and even whilst we are building these super highways, we also have to fix the little problems that people have. We would work with you to make sure that we are able to work with everyone in all of our communities.”

DPI spoke with several chairpersons who said the subvention will improve the livelihood of citizens in their districts.

Chairperson of La Grange NDC, Anjanie Narine said the money will be used to upgrade infrastructure in her community.

“First of all, I am very much grateful to the Government of Guyana on this initiative and it is very welcoming that we would have received our subvention, 50 per cent today. It is timely, and we do intend to get our works started as soon as possible. Listening to the minister’s speech, there are some changes in mind which we will have to make and make representation for, and we are going to do that as early as possible, so we can venture out in using our subvention across the NDC, equally. So, for example there is a bridge that the school children from La Grange going over to Bagotville is in a very bad state. One such change will be to facilitate the upgrading of that bridge.” 

Yogieraj Das, chairperson of Canal Polders said, “We as the chairman, we have been doing work. The guidance that has been given to us today will lead us in a better direction in terms of what we are supposed to deliver and with the subvention we have collected today. We have a programme to carry out, we in the Canals Polder see some mud roads so we are going to use part of that to fix them for the rainy seasons. We will also use some to buy some street lights to further enhance the catchment area of the NDC.”

Another, Chairperson, Jaideo Sookhoo noted that he will use the subvention to upgrade an internal road in his district as residents depend on it.

“Well, I am very happy to receive this cheque because we propose, and we plan over a year now that what we going to do. The council has planned to do a street- 40 rod street, and we will continue to do that. We will not change our project. The reason why there is a number of streets already built in the area on the public road and this is an internal street which the residents depend on from the NDC and the ministry of local government.”

Meanwhile, each NDC received some $2.5 million, their first subvention for the first quarter of the year.

The 14 NDCs that received subventions are Wakenaam, Leguan, Mora/Parika,   Hydronie/ Goodhope, Greenwich Park/ Vergenoegen, Tuschen/Uitvlugt, Stewartville/Cornelia Ida, Hague/Blankenburg, La Jalousie/ Nouvelle Flanders, Best/ Klien Pounderoyen, Malgre Tout/ Meerzorgen, La Grange, Canals Polder and Toevlugt/Patentia.