Min Dharamlall urges Leguan CEWs to ‘up their game’

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Hon. Nigel Dharamlall has called on Community Enhancement Workers (CEWs) in Leguan, Region Three to do more to enhance the communities within their purview.

The Minister made this appeal while addressing workers during a recent engagement on the island.

Minister Dharamlall told the CEWs that their work should complement the Administration’s efforts to develop every community and the country as a whole. He noted that Leguan has more CEWs than any other community and while the Government has invested over $300 million in the programme, their performance has been unsatisfactory.

“We expect that you are going to up your game because for us, as a Government, whilst we are doing all of the main physical infrastructure around the island and the country, our enhancement workers are part of the sustainability of these infrastructures and I am not satisfied with how your CIIP [Community Infrastructure Improvement Programme] have been working.

Your duties are to make sure that it is shown, that the image of Leguan is uplifted and I would like to see your effort,” he said.

Minister Dharamlall also noted that the Leguan CEWs are working fewer hours than the required four hours per day.

“We are doing this because we want to engage with people who are unemployed so we can provide some source of employment to them and we are also doing because it contributes to the village economy development, but I don’t think that we are doing justice to the people of Leguan.”

Some of the Community Enhancement Workers and members of the Leguan Neighbourhood Democratic Council at the meeting.

Minister Dharamlall told workers that changes must be made to improve residents’ quality of life. He also noted that if the current team of CEWs are unable to perform creditably, other persons can take their place.

“I would like you to start thinking about how you want your surroundings to be transformed and the NDC will give you some form of guidance to what they would like to see happen…I would like the enhancement workers to create a space for social development,” he said.

The CIIP programme began in 2014 and was modified in 2015 to decentralise resources to the Local Democratic Organs. This restructuring has seen the day-to-day management of the workers transferred from under the purview of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development to the local democratic areas through the community enhancement initiative.

The CIIP also enables neighbourhood democratic councils to provide services to communities and to encourage citizens to pay their rates and taxes to facilitate the maintenance of much-needed infrastructural works.