New PPP LGE candidates want to see change in New Amsterdam

date, Nicola Luther.

New candidates on the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) list to contest the 2023 Local Government Elections (LGE) in New Amsterdam, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) say they are there because they want to see change in the town.

The candidates say services offered by the municipality to residents have not been what has been expected for decades.

As a township, New Amsterdam is 231 years old, making it by far the oldest town in the country and in terms of being a municipality, it is 131 years old – also the oldest in the country.

The Town Council has always been under the majority rulership of the People’s

National Congress (PNC), which for years occupied 13 of the 14 seats, with the PPP having one.

When LGE were last held in 2018, the PPP was able to secure three seats and under a new name A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) – the PNCled coalition which entered the elections partnered with the Alliance For Change (AFC), 11 seats.

The PPP has since said that it is aiming to change the leadership of the Council.

One of its candidates, Juanita Burrows, who is a new face, says the overall goal is to ensure that the town experiences development. The same view was expressed by another candi-

Burrows said there has been neglect of the town for decades. Basic infrastructure, she said, needs to be improved as she made mention of the Stanleytown cemetery which remains in a run-down state. Most of the tombs have been covered with heavy overgrowth. The cemetery is under the control of the municipality and over the years for a price persons have been able to bury their loved ones in selected spots; even on the walkways - -some of which have now become inaccessible.

“The important thing is not to keep New Amsterdam down, but to let people see a transformation in our community. We want clean drains; good street lights and we also want a very clean cemetery. We all have loved ones there. This will be one of our main focuses and we will also make sure that every part of New Amsterdam is clean and healthy,” the PPP candidate for Constituency Five said.

Meanwhile, Luther said there was a need for a change, noting that she wanted to be a part of that change.

“I want to enhance the community, because community development is our main focus and I know that with my intellect and experience, I have a basic understanding of the theory and also living in the town, I have observed a lot of things that have been happening over the last few years, and so I know that I can make a change,” she said.

Burrows said she was expecting APNU to bring development to the town of New Amsterdam when it was in Government.

“After those five years, I see no development; the streets are bad, there are no street lights, the cemetery was because it was not appreciative of the support she wanted to offer.

On Nomination Day, APNU’s election agent, Jevaughn Stephens told this publication that the Central Government has been playing politics with New Amsterdam as he accused the Government of deliberately stymieing the development of the town.

This, Stephens said, makes the Town Council look “politically bad”, as he called on the Government to ensure the town of New Amsterdam gets what it should.

However, the head of the PPP/C candidate list for New Amsterdam, Phillip Rose assured that under a PPP-led Town Council, there would be development.

“Garbage, overgrown bushes, and the drainage is in a state, and garbage is being dumped all over. I took the decision after being dissatisfied with the work of our Government, I decided to make the change,” Burrows said.

Guyana Times attempted to interview some APNU Councillors also vying for election in New Amsterdam, but they were a no-show for a scheduled interview with this publication. Both Luther and Burrows were known to be sympathetic towards APNU.

Luther, on the other hand, said her decision to leave the coalition behind which have been left unattended – we will change that. We want people to know that whatever we promise to people, we are going to fulfil. I want to make this clear that we will be working with the Government to make sure that these things happen,” Rose committed. (G4)