Local Government

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) has begun realigning its operations in accordance with the country’s 10 administrative regions. Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan on Monday disclosed that the regionalisation of the police force is being gradually rolled out and will eventually be formally launched. He says divisional headquarters and living quarters are now being built in a number of interior ...

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is Wednesday expected to decide on a new timeframe within which general and regional council elections could be held, paving the way for President David Granger to dissolve Parliament and name an election date. Election Commissioners from the opposition People’s Progressive Party and the governing coalition A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) said ...

The Georgetown City Council on Tuesday said it planned to move in on a John Fernandes Limited (JFL) site at Houston Gardens, East Bank Demerara, to enforce a “cease order on the construction of a petrochemical bond by an American company that has been contracted to supply ExxonMobil. Town Clerk, Sharon Harry-Munroe told reporters that despite the issuance of the ...

Hundreds of Lindeners have so far registered since the commencement of house-to-house registration on July 20, a Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) spokeswoman said. Among those who jotted down their names to be included in a new National Register of Registrants are potential first-time voters and regional officials, who are ensuring they set the example in getting registered promptly. GECOM teams ...

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Friday confirmed that house-to-house registration would begin on Saturday, July 20 and end in another three months. GECOM spokeswoman, Yolanda Ward said the teams have been “doubled” with the aim of completing the house-to-house registration process in “the shortest possible time” and there was a likelihood that it could be wrapped up ahead of ...

East Coast Demerara residents would have to wait until another 18 months to receive house lots, as the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) continues to grapple with a backlog of more than 40,000 applications, Junior Housing Minister Annette Ferguson said Wednesday. Addressing a government outreach at Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara, Ferguson told residents that when the lands are ...

Even as the Local Government Commission (LGC) prepares to decide the fate of several Georgetown City Council officers against whom disciplinary action had been recommended by an inquiry, the administration is yet to hand over records to allow the Auditor General to conduct an audit into the financial dealings. LGC Deputy Chairman, Andrew Garnett told Demerara Waves Online News that ...

Afro-Guyanese on Sunday signaled they would be accelerating lobbying for a return to village councils because the existing local governance system has removed their ownership and direct responsibility for their villages, but the Guyana Reparations Committee said a special law is needed for land rights and local governance. Chairman of the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana (IDPADA-G), ...

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communities, Emil McGarrel Friday night ruled counter-signing cheques for the Local Government Commission (LGC) to pay salaries, utility and other bills until the Finance Ministry says how it intends to finance a shortfall. “What they have submitted is something (a work programme) that is showing a shortfall that is outside of the budget. I ...

The Local Government Commission (LGC) on Friday announced that it has been “effectively shut down” because the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communities has refused to countersign cheques for salaries and other expenses. LGC Chairman Mortimer Mingo said the Permanent Secretary argued that the salaries were above the pay scales of the traditional public service. Mingo said the LGC ...