Gov’t to launch new app to address community issues in real time

The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development plans on launching a new digital platform aimed at improving how community concerns are reported and addressed, as part of efforts to strengthen engagement between residents, Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs), and central government.

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Priya Manickchand, announced the initiative during a community engagement at Canal No. One Polder, West Bank Demerara.

“You can go on this and you can say my problem is a bridge that has too high a slope or my road is flooded, or the garbage that hasn’t been picked up and we will respond to that from a central level,” Minister Manickchand said.

The minister said complaints submitted through the platform will be tracked and followed up to ensure accountability between NDCs and relevant government agencies. This will allow residents to receive clear updates on the status of their concerns, including which authority is responsible and what actions have been taken.

Residents were asked to assist the ministry with testing by accessing the service through the hotline 762-2431, which links directly to the system. Users can submit complaints and receive responses within 24 hours.

The minister noted that a response does not necessarily mean immediate action, but will include confirmation that the issue was received and information on the steps being taken to resolve it.

“The response is ‘John’ we get your message, we’re looking at it currently, we’ve spoken to Public Works. That’s what we’re building out right now,” she said.

The app is currently being tested and refined, with residents encouraged to use the service to help improve responses and expand the system’s ability to address a wider range of community issues.

The minister also said the goal is to create a more transparent, responsive, and reliable mechanism for resolving problems and ensuring residents’ concerns are not lost between agencies.