Nine Regional and Vice Chairs were on Monday sworn in to serve the people of the various Administrative Regions of Guyana, at a formal, legal ceremony held at the Arthur Chung Conference Center.
In his remarks to the local leaders, President Irfaan Ali said that the Regional Democratic Councils (RDC) are a very important bridge between the Central and Local government. He said that the function of that ‘bridge’ is to represent the interest of all the people of the various regions, and in doing so, it has to be through selfless leadership.
“It is that bridge that seeks to improve the lives and conditions under which the people of all the regions live under. I want to assure you that the Central Government will provide the necessary support to allow you and enable you to facilitate the development and upward movement of the people of our country in every single region. It is not an easy task, but it must be a selfless task. It must be a task that you take seriously. Our oath of office is one which you have committed yourself to serving the people of the regions,” President Ali remarked.
Positing further, that regardless of political alignment, RDCs are expected to look into the interest of all people: “Although you represent different political parties, assuming the positions of Chairman and Vice Chair, your conduct and actions has to be for all the people of the region. Elections are over, you’re now committed to lead. After the elections are over, your task is to serve all people. In doing so, I wish you well.”
The Head of State said that this COVID-19 pandemic requires a special type of leadership, one in which the leaders have to place at the forefront of their agenda, the recovery of communities from the impact of the virus.
He specifically mentioned: returning communities to sustainability, and small businesses as immediate areas of focus, since the socio-economic impact was vast.
Some US$60B has already been secured to provide funding for relief and bringing back regions and communities to a state of normalcy.
Echoing the sentiments of the president, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall told the Village Voice that the Regional leaders were elected to serve everyone and not any particular party’s interest.
He said that with the billions of dollars allocated, his aim is to ensure that all the local governance is executed in a consultative, collaborative way, with the residents of the various regions.
“Local governance is the basis of what good governance is. We have to make sure that people’s lives are affected in a positive way. The regions have an expansive budget, billions of dollars… In preparation of the 2021 budget, and I’ve already spoken to practically all the RDCs so far, they have to reach out to citizens to let the citizens determine the priorities as much as possible in a consultative, collaborative way, and not for the higher level to impose on what has to be done. They have to understand the dynamics of what happens on the ground. I believe that through consultations and collaborations we will have a good working relationship. These leaders were not elected for a particular party’s interest, so they must be fair in all that they do,” the Minister said
He anticipates that with the new Chairmans, the new minister, and the new government, great things will happen for the people of Guyana.
