Interviews and photos by Cathy Richards
Recently the residents of Kwakwani rejected the government imposed IMC and instead installed a 15-person local committee to run the affairs of the community. Today we asked some of the residents what they think about this move. Their views follow:
Sherlock Adams – ‘I think this is the best idea. I was born and grew up in Kwakwani and for the longest while we just see the people putting who they feel like in this area, so we think the people that we put to run this place here… is the right people to run this place; at least I think we should give we own a chance.’
Lorraine Fordyce – ‘I don’t see it as running we own show; I just feel we the people of Kwakwani believe that by right whatever is happening in the community that the people should be a part of it. We should have a say in it, and when you look around things have not been improving, things have been deteriorating and we need to see improvement. We need to see development, and we don’t agree so far with what has been happening, so we believe that decision-making should involve the people.’
Audrey Gordon – ‘Well, the residents that are here born and grow up in Kwakwani think that if we put these people [there] they are going to do something good for the committee, not only for themselves. We want better roads, better garbage collection and so on to get a healthy environment in Kwakwani, but you see people just coming and grasping; they got people coming from out of Kwakwani grasping for themselves and just go away. Look at RUSAL; they just digging out we bauxite and they gone, and they ain‘t doing nothing to the road. We have to beg and plead with them just to put a new street; the road wasn’t like this. The trail even better than the road in Kwakwani… Is we the people of Kwakwani have to choose who we want, not people coming from elsewhere secretly behind we back and picking people and choosing people. I think Kwakwani people should put aside politics and live as one in unity and love.’
Shonette Seaforth – ‘Well I think whoever they put in place to run this community interest shouldn’t worry about the interest of themselves, but the community, and they should look out for the people. Since this government took over, Kwakwani has changed and it’s all about politics; if you are not PPP you can’t mix, if you are not AFC you cannot mix and if you not APNU you cannot mix. That is destroying our community, rather than keeping us together as one. It has also become a thing of power; people are more interested in power than looking out for the interest of the community.’
Faye Rodrigues-Navarrio – ‘I must say that I am satisfied that the people who we would have elected and put in place is the right team that will look out for Kwakwani. We know that they cannot wave a magic wand and have everything done in three days or a week or a month; it will take some time. What we are sure of is that committee – our NDC – will rise to the challenge because it‘s all of us feeling the effects of things right now. It was so wrong for the Minister to come here and just do as he like, and then make a statement like he did. Look at the state of Lamp Island. By now we should have had a potable water supply and so many other things. We are saying to this government, no more of the pussy-footing; only we can deal with our welfare and whatever it takes to ensure that happens, we will do just that.’
Cassandra Reynolds – ‘We running our own show if you want to put it that way; it is our right. For all the years nothing good has been happening for this place, it‘s all about power and politics, and the interest and development of this community has been taking a back seat. The time has come for us to take control and look out for our welfare and well-being. For the years the government has been in power they have not been doing anything for us; they just mislead us and rather than we getting betterment we keep being further divided and sinking as a community. We have the opportunity to do now what we want. The government neither Mr Whittaker don’t live in Kwakwani so he can’t just come here and hand-pick who he wants to lead us here. We are the ones who suffered under the PPP and their supporters, and we don’t want them.’
Inez Morian – ‘I am very proud because I know by the help of the Almighty we are going to make it, and make our community a better place like the days of old. We are looking for a better standard in everything. Our place was a place of beauty and pride. The name of this place was Kwakwani Park, now I just say Kwakwani because it is a far cry from what a park looks like or should be. This place has a lot of garbage, very bad streets and the general standard has dropped significantly. I am very proud that we can elect our own people and run our own show; that is our democratic right.’
Fredrick David – ‘For the past years we have been running our own show because it was a community group that went for elections, and for eighteen years they stifled we because they were the majority in parliament and so we were being stifled. We were a community group… they frustrate this group even so far that when we had members departing, some died some were errant and left, they did not allow us the right to have them replaced. So we were eventually down to four and couldn’t do nothing to change that, because for all these years there were no local government elections. As it is now, we say enough is enough, democracy rules.’
Bertram Adolph – ‘This is a very good step that we have taken here in Kwakwani, and what is most admirable was the level of involvement of our youths in this process. For a lot of them they were never exposed to a local government election where they would have had the opportunity to choose people who they see on a daily basis and who they know and have confidence in. We are an example to be followed by the rest of Guyana and the world at large. We live in a democratic country and we should not allow any government to try to deny us that right. Power to the people.’
Perbitta Fields – ‘I believe in the process of democracy and I am a young and intelligent person, and from what I have been observing and reasoning this government is not being democratic. They were put in those seats to serve. They are to serve the people of this country, but it seems to be the other way around. I believe that it takes the people of Kwakwani to run the affairs of this community. They know it inside out and those the government tried to throw on us are imposters and politically biased; that we cannot and will not condone.
