Province Hosts Guyana Municipal Service Officials

The province's municipal services staff will play host to officials from the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development of Guyana during their visit to Nova Scotia today, Nov. 27, to Friday, Dec. 1.

"Staff will show Guyana officials how different levels of government come together to deliver top-notch services to Nova Scotians," said Jamie Muir, Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations.

The delegates will job shadow and participate in training programs on relationship building and presentation delivery. They will also visit the municipalities of Halifax, Queens, Shelburne, and Kings, as well as the Town of Wolfville, to learn how the province works with municipalities.

Discussions will focus on solid-waste management, bylaw enforcement, financial operations and public works.

In January, staff visited Guyana to provide training to the municipal service officers. The training included tips on how to be a successful municipal adviser, developing relationships with various levels of government and offered background information on Nova Scotia.

The delegation is part of the Guyana Municipal Governance and Management Program, a joint venture of Guyanese and Canadian municipalities and the governments of Guyana and Canada. The goal of the program is to help Guyana develop sustainable municipalities by fostering good governance and reducing poverty.

Project outcomes include municipal leadership and management, municipal services management, participatory governance, policy development and enabling institutions.

The Guyana/Nova Scotia partnership was considered a good fit by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities because of a similar population, coastal geography and the reliance of natural resources to fuel the local economy in rural areas.

Participants include the Guyanese towns of Georgetown, New Amsterdam, Linden, Corriverton, Anna Regina, Rose Hall, the Guyana Association of Municipalities, the Guyana Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

The program is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency. For more information, see the Federation of Canadian Municipalities website at www.fcm.ca .