PPP/C on charm offensive in bid to win New Amsterdam
General Secretary of the PPP/C Bharrat Jagdeo has met with candidates and activists in New Amsterdam in what appears to be intensified efforts to win over the town, a longtime PNCR stronghold currently under APNU leadership.
Following what was a private meeting on Saturday, the party released pictures online stating it was part of the ongoing preparations for the upcoming Local Government Elections.
At what can be deemed as one of the largest turnout of activists the party has seen in the town, it has been reported that the PPP/C promised among other things, to rehabilitate and better manage the New Amsterdam Market, introduce a night market and install traffic lights at strategic locations.
Flyers touting “A new beginning in New Amsterdam” were distributed to those gathered. They are expected to be handed out throughout the town as the party candidates make their cases to be elected. According to one flyer: “since independence for almost 60 years the PNC/APNU have had control of the New Amsterdam Town Council and they have failed to deliver a town that is worthy of you”. It asks that residents choose the PPP/C “which will deliver a people friendly, service-oriented and accountable town council.”
In 19 bullet points, the flyer promises that the PPP/C will transform the drainage system with cleared and desilted earthen and concrete drains and canals, redesign interlocks, and well-maintained chokers, and instal new drainage pumps in Vryman’s Erven and Stanleytown.
It will also, “Be more transparent and accountable with rigorous annual auditing of accounts. Improve management at town hall and other [town]-controlled entities and facilities, such as markets,” it added.
Further, the PPP/C will rehabilitate and construct better roads and streets throughout the town, with streetlights, landscaped parapets and roadsides, concrete sidewalks, and vehicular and footbridges, the flyer proclaimed. It will also improve parking arrangements with more organised cars and bus parks, and construct bus sheds at strategic locations. It vowed to “Make our town safe with more community policing groups and rehabilitate hydrants.”
Additionally, the party promised to introduce E-governance including online services for permits, licences, and other applications and payments through electronic transactions; engage citizens maximally both at Town Hall and in the communities; and livestream council meetings so that the public is better informed and engaged.
If they elect PPP/C candidates, the flyer said, New Amsterdamers can expect to see the old ferry area developed for leisure and entertainment; the iconic New Amsterdam Town Hall rehabilitated and transformed as a national heritage site; while the Esplanade will become a family-oriented leisure, sports, and entertainment park.
Some other promises include cleaning up the town with weekly garbage disposal; removal of abandoned construction material, derelict vehicles, and old equipment; clearing bushes at the roadsides, in empty lots and cemeteries; rehabilitation of community centres, playgrounds, and recreation areas; provision of lights; and creation of green spaces around the town with floodlights for the basketball courts. The flyer also said that there would be increased access for youth, young adult employment, empowerment, and skills training programmes, as well as daycare and night care facilities and child and elderly welfare programmes.
Meanwhile, according to some of the activists who were at the meeting, Jagdeo went into great detail about the plans for the town and encouraged them to intensify campaigning as he highlighted challenges in getting work done in the town under its present leadership. They said Jagdeo reminded them of the need to go “house to house” and not give up, even in cases where they might be shunned by people.