President David Granger, this morning, administered the Oath of Office to the re-elected Mayors and Deputy Mayors for the ten Municipalities, during a simple ceremony, held at the Ministry of the Presidency.
The Head of State in a brief address, called on the Mayors and the Deputies to recognise their responsibility to serve their constituents, regardless of political affiliation and to lead the process of transforming the towns into centres of commerce and industry. He also urged them to ensure public services are provided to the people in collaboration with the other levels of Government.
“The Government of Guyana functions at three levels: national, regional and local. All three levels must collaborate to ensure the efficient delivery of public services to every citizen, everywhere in the country. All three levels must be competent in order to ensure good governance,” he said.
President Granger said that democratically elected Town Councils, Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and Village Councils are now part of the system of regional administration. Municipalities are essential elements of the Local Government system, he said, adding that their role has been expanded beyond the mere provision of municipal services.
“They are now expected to become agents of change, drivers of development and protectors of the environment in collaboration with Central Government and the Regional Democratic Councils,” he said.
As Guyana aligns itself to become a state of economically-powerful regions characterised by universal access to public services, the President said that Town Councils, therefore, must retool their administrative systems to become the engines of enterprise, employment and economic development. He noted that capital towns are the main centres of commerce and industry, the principal ports or terminals of international trade, the seats of public administration and the main settlements of their population.
He said Town Councils should revamp and retool their admin systems to enable them to become engines of enterprise, agents of employment and engines of economic development. “Regional councillors regardless of their political affiliation must collaborate for the common good of their municipalities and their regions,” he noted.
The Mayors, who were sworn in this morning are Mr. Ubraj Narine (Georgetown), Mr. Winston Roberts (Corriverton), Ms. Waneka Arrindell (Linden), Mr. Chattergoon Ramnauth (Rose Hall), Mr. Rajendra Prabhulall (Anna Regina), Mr. Gifford Marshall (Bartica), Mr. Chris Phang (Mabaruma), Mr. John Macedo (Lethem) and Mr. David Adams (Mahdia). The Mayor of New Amsterdam, Ms. Winifred Heywood is currently out of the jurisdiction and would be sworn in at a later date.
The Deputy Mayors, who took the Oath of Office today are Mr. Alfred Mentore (Georgetown), Mr. Wainwright McIntosh (New Amsterdam), Mr. Imran Amin (Corriverton), Mr. Wainewright Bethune (Linden), Mr. Deonauth Harrinarine (Rose Hall), Mr. Rudolph Williams (Anna Regina), Ms. Carolyn Robinson (Mabaruma), Ms. Debra King (Lethem) and Ms. Juewayne Mendonca- Burrowes (Mahdia).
