A high-level ministerial team on Monday held an outreach in Buxton, East Coast Demerara (ECD) where Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall pointed out that “accessibility” is a hallmark of the PPP/C administration.
Dharamlall told attendees that the government, through this and a number of similar outreaches across the country, is aiming to build better relationships with citizens of all walks of life.
“Leadership is about building trust and you can’t trust us if you can’t relate to us and we cannot work for you, if we don’t have trust in the system…one of things that is the hallmark of the PPP/C Government is our accessibility,” he expressed.
“You are not going to get development if people don’t listen you…if the leaders in the community don’t listen to the people, we are not going to be making progress,” he added.
In this regard, the Local Government Minister reasoned that the community of Buxton is not short of leadership. He further posited that the community has a lot of potential which the government is looking to harness.
Moreover, he highlighted that the issues faced in the community which include the maintenance of roads, schools and drains and the provision of job opportunities, among others, are no different from the ones faced by other communities in the country.
Nevertheless, Minister Dharamlall explained that these issues will be addressed in manner which will provide targeted opportunities for those who reside in the community.
“All the projects that we are going to be doing from now to the end of the year, we’re not going to give to any contractor who already who already has contracts…any project that has to be done in Buxton must be done by a company in Buxton, a registered business in Buxton, by the people of Buxton,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Minister Dharamlall said the lack of resources that is challenging the work of the Neighborhood Democratic Council (NDC) should no longer be an issue under the Dr Irfaan Ali led administration.
He noted too that there are currently over 40 persons employed by the Local Government Ministry that is working in the Buxton NDC to undertake project should as cleanup exercises.
