Some 1,000 CDCs to be established nationwide

WITH 175 Community Development Councils (CDCs) already up and running, the Government is seeking to establish a minimum of 1,000 CDCs across Guyana.

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, told the Guyana Chronicle, on Monday, that the Government is working to strengthen relations with communities through the establishment of CDCs nationwide.

Community Development Councils are community interest groups, constituted of individuals from within the particular community who are elected by members of the community to serve in leadership capacities.

The Councils focus on a broad gamut of issues that affect the community, including, but not limited to, social issues, psycho socio support, issues amongst youth, community infrastructure and will identify issues affecting members within the community and liaison with the Government.

“For us, the Community Development Councils will create an environment where Government can become closer to people, and also the issues of people can be addressed by the Government in a direct way,” Dharamlall said.

The minister explained that due to the uniqueness of each community, Government cannot identify specific issues affecting them all. As such, part of the Councils’ mandate will be to advise the Government on issues the communities are facing to foster development within the community.

“We will also use the relationship with CDCs as a means of understanding better, what are the issues in the different villages. We would not be able to make investments in the villages until we understand the issues,” Dharamlall said.

The councils will also be able to function based on a preemptive approach rather than a reactive approach, where they may be able to foresee issues which can then be dealt with in a timely manner.

“We believe by using that type of approach, many of the issues that affect people on a daily basis, we will get them to be resolved in a much better way and in a much more effective way,” Dharamlall said.

PROVIDE SUPPORT
The Government’s role in the initiative will be to facilitate the establishment of the Councils and to monitor them, while providing strong support.

“These are self-serving, independent Councils that we support. The Government will play the facilitative role, we would provide as much support as possible and the support will be both tangible and intangible, in terms of resources, training, other capacity development,” Dharamlall said.

Dharamlall explained that the communities will be at the helm of the initiative and there will be wide inclusivity to cater for everyone from each demographic.

“It goes beyond any political stereotype, any racial stereotype or gender stereotype, so basically it is very inclusive and the communities themselves determine who the executives of the Council are,” he said.

The minister explained that the initiative is not a new one; however, it has been dormant for the last five years and the ministry is now looking to revamp it.

“When I went through the contents of Ministry and the Community Development Department, we were unable to find any documentation to verify that groups were actually established and to validate the work that they actually did,” Dharamlall explained.

He added: “What we are doing now is basically restarting this process and to make it as open and as transparent as possible.”

Dharamlall explained that the initiative is one that creates the opportunity for people across the country to serve in leadership roles, and he is urging all to come on board.

“It will also serve as a training ground for people who want to elevate into different positions of leadership positions in the national and regional level… what we would like is the full participation of different types of people,” he said.

So far, Councils have been established mainly on the coastal plain, in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and 10. However, Dharamlall explained that the initiative will be taken to the hinterland region in the coming year, once the budgetary allocations are made.