Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Mr. Nigel Dharamlall has issued a threat to the Belladrum community to change the leadership of their Community Development Council (CDC).
Village Voice News (VVN) was reliably informed last thursday, May 4, 2023, at a public meeting at Paradise Village, West Coast Berbice, the minister told the attendees he will change the management of the Belladrum CDC in the coming days.
The minister proposed to implement an Interim Management Committee.
Residents expressed alarm at the minister’s attitude which they deem uninformed. The CDC is a registered trust and independent of government’s control.
The minister further threatened to seize the CDC’s properties and hand them over to the proposed IMC.
The CDC operates on a portion of land leased from the Profit Rising Sun Neighborhood Democratic Council.
During the life of the A Partnership of National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) government, the CDC sourced funding from NGOs and the Central Government and executed several projects.
Lt Col (Ret’d) Lelon Saul, a member of the CDC, told VVN any attempt by the Central Government, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), or its agents to deny the CDC its properties will be met with resistance.
He has also called on residents to “guard against PPP thuggery and disrespect.”
Saul emphasised that all the buildings on the leased land are properties of the CDC and not the Central Government.
