New Amsterdam is a historic, honourable and proud community long regarded as the ‘capital’ of the ancient county – Berbice. The town was established as a Municipality one hundred and twenty three years ago in 1891. It is, next to Georgetown, Guyana’s oldest municipality.
The Town’s seven constituencies, however, are all experiencing similar problems. The Town has grown but, particularly over the past twenty-two years, there has been visible physical degeneration. This is due to marginalization and political interference from the People’s Progressive Party/Civic administration; a meagre and untimely annual subvention of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) given by the Central Government; Ministerial Orders that are not in keeping with the Municipal and District Council Act Chapter 28:01 and limited resources.
The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development (MLGRD) continues to interfere unjustifiably and oppressively into the administrative affairs of the Council, making it difficult for staff to understand who are the policy and decision makers and to whom they are accountable. There have been no increases in rates and taxes over the years as the President has not assented to the increase in Rates and Taxes as was recommended twelve years ago while the Urban Development Programme was being executed.
Poverty and unemployment in the Town have created an army of beggars, drug addicts, destitute people, street children,
