By Abigail Headley
Recent crossover from APNU to the PPP/C, Trichria Richards will come up against APNU candidate, Winston Harding who had been embroiled in a child molestation scandal causing his party to withdraw support from him in the 2016 local government elections.
Also contesting the First-Past-The-Post contest in East and West Ruimveldt on June 12 is Jamall Adams of an independent group.
Stabroek News spoke with all three candidates.
Trichria Richards – PPP/C
In constituency 13, Richards is already serving as councilor having been elected under the APNU ticket in 2018. According to her, she has been able to do more in the short time she’s been with the PPP/C than under APNU.
“I’ve been a community representative for the past eight years, from 2015 to present and, while I did get some amount of projects executed under the APNU party, it’s the lack of continuous resources and support that prompted me to run under the PPP party. I’ve been with them for a short time now and so far I’ve been getting tremendous support in terms of resources and development in the Constituency. I have been in contact with ministers of government right up to the Vice President (Bharrat Jagdeo) of Guyana, and because of that I’ve been getting a lot of support in terms of helping not only persons in the area but also developmental works,” she told Stabroek News during an interview.
On this note, the boutique owner highlighted such projects as repairs to the West Ruimveldt road and the current rehabilitation of a thoroughfare from Cemetery Road to Hunter St along with the de-silting of the big canals and drains within the constituency.
“We also getting support from both Minister (Deodat) Indar and Minister (Juan) Edghill from Public Works to do some small drains in the community. I also partnered with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Youth, Culture & Sport to get some scholarships for young people in the area. We have about 200 for the GOAL Scholarship… we’re doing a scholarship drive right now,” she added.
Richards assured that, “this is just the beginning of it and win/lose/draw, support has been pledged to the constituency, especially that you have a representative who is connected and also working with the government to ensure that resources and developmental works come in the constituency so that persons could benefit in the area”.
When asked about her future plans for Constituency 13, post-LGE elections, Richards made mention of her aim to have the East Ruimveldt Community Centre completely rehabilitated for the purposes of skills training and educational projects. She also made mention of wanting to establish and build a community centre for the first time in West Ruimveldt.
On encouraging residents in the area, she had this to say, “…. with the APNU party I didn’t had so much access to resources that I’m having now. So, it’s not about talks it’s about action. Who is helping the constituency? I can’t wait until I get in there to do work… You can’t put somebody who really cannot support or do or not get support so that is what I want them to look at. Don’t look at the politics side of it. Politics is just an avenue to make sure that our Constituency needs are looked after. So look at the candidates individually and see who is bringing resources, who is bringing development, and who is just about talks and make your choice based on that”.
One of the issues faced by residents of the East and West Ruimveldt communities is the ongoing late arrival of garbage collectors employed under the Mayor and City Council. One resident reported to this newspaper that sometimes a week or two would pass before the trucks would make an appearance. By that time flies would have begun to infest homes and the garbage bins would be overflowing with worms.
Winston Harding – APNU
Representing A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) in Constituency 13, is Winston Harding. Harding was in 2016 sworn in as Councilor but later removed from the post following allegations of child sexual molestation leveled against him.
Given his past, the candidate has been subject to protests and outrage from members of the public, much like what transpired during the 2016 LGE when he was in the running.
When questioned about the public’s reactions regarding him being accused of child molestation, the 52-year-old had this to say, “I have nothing to study about that. Those allegations were being made by those who didn’t want me to win the elections. I took the matter to court … and I won the case”.
Prior to being elected to the council in 2016 and then being removed from his position as Councilor, Harding had lost the support of the APNU who dropped his candidacy. He was later reinstated as a member of the party after being cleared and is now being given another chance at running for office.
“I love my people and have their interest at heart,” the Security Officer said, while adding that the people of East/West Ruimveldt can expect the best from him at the level of the Council and the Constituency.
“My advice to the public: vote for me, Harding, because [I] will deliver again. Let’s not put our Constituency in the hand of oppressors,” he stated.
Jamall Adams – ICP
Under the umbrella of the Independent Citizens for Progress (ICP) group, Jamall Adams, 37, told Stabroek News that about two to three LGEs ago he wanted to represent his community at a councilor’s level but never got around to doing it, so this year he decided to take the leap. When asked why he chose to run for the upcoming LGE, he stated, “because there’s real problems in our community and these problems aren’t being represented well at City Hall, so instead of me just talking about the problems and playing the blame game, I’ve decided to run to be put in the position to create solutions to these problems we are facing in [Constituency 13] C13”.
A Freelance Writer and Content Creator, Adams says that should he be elected Councilor he would be sure to address such issues as late arrival of garbage trucks, poor drainage and damaged roads which are key issues affecting not only his community but many others in Georgetown. He added that, more importantly, he will “try to create sustainable systems that will improve the livelihood of the residents of C13, for example, safety, education, businesses, etc.”.
