Ministry of Agriculture Launches Department of Constituency Empowerment

Basseterre, St. Kitts, September 20, 2013 (SKNIS) — The Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Cooperatives is launching a new Department which will be called the Department of Constituency Empowerment (DCE).

This new unit, whose vision is to create a dynamic socio-economic environment that will provide equal opportunities for all citizens to achieve peaceful and acceptable standards of living and the right to engage in the overall development of the country, will be governed by three tenets namely: Community Activism, Resilient Livelihoods and Participatory Local Governance.

According to Director of the department Dr Joyelle Clarke, the DCE’s mandate is to engage communities and community groups in meaningful constituency-lead development which would serve as a direct response to constituency needs; the hallmark of community activism.

“It is important that we work on improving the dialogue between constituents and representatives,” said Dr. Clarke, “so that the issues that really affect people can be dealt with in a direct manner.”

For the rest of the year 2013, the Department of Constituency Empowerment will be engaged in an intense Empowerment Campaign which will include media appearances, community group outreach, pre-operational surveys and establishing empowerment zones for implementation of project activities.