The restoration of Councils not an overnight job- Minister Bulkan

DPI, Guyana, Monday, September 24, 2018

Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan said there is still hope for Local Democratic Organs (LDO) whose capacities have been degraded over the years.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of Nomination day activities at the Critchlow Labour College last Friday, Minister Bulkan said years of mismanagement and “enormous pressure,” have hurt some of the Local Councils. He said, however, that while it will not happen “overnight”, things will return to the way they ought to be.

“It will take time, it will require a considerable investment of resources, capacity building, and addressing human resource challenges,” Minister Bulkan said.

According to the Communities Minister, the local democratic system was subjected to enormous pressure over a lengthy period of time.

Over the last three years, Central Government through the Ministry of Communities undertook a wide range of programmes and policies with the aim of restoring local democracy. The most significant, Minister Bulkan said was the recently held National Conference of Local Democratic Organs (NCLDO), which brought together all 81 Local Democratic Organs from across Guyana.

That Conference, the Minister said, was designed to arrive at a situation analysis of the conditions and challenges within the organs, to hear directly from the leadership of the councils and to identify priorities to be included in the 2019 national budget. That he noted, will also help in restoring capacity and ultimately effectiveness within those councils.

Alexis Rodney.

Image: Jameel Mohammed.