INSIDE GRENADA JANUARY 07, 2008 From the National Democratic Congress (NDC) ST. GEORGE, Grenada, January 07, 2008 -- St. David, regarded by many as one of Grenada’s most neglected parishes, will receive development assistance in a number of areas under a National Democratic Congress government, promises NDC MP Dennis Lett. The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Lett is also the sitting Member of Parliament for St. David. The 69-year-old father of six was elected to parliament in 2003 as one of seven NDC MPs. A licensed surveyor who started his own business in 1993 after 33 in the employ of the Ministry of Works, Lett says reports being received from around Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique are that the NDC could win the required additional seats to form the next government. An NDC administration will give attention to the housing and agricultural needs of St. David, said Lett. “The number one priority for St. David is housing,’’ he said. “Priority should be given to rebuilding and repairing houses in St. David, where a lot of houses were destroyed during Hurricane Ivan.’’ Severe damage to Grenada’s housing stock, particularly in St. David and St. George’s, was inflicted when Hurricane Ivan battered the island in September 2004. There also was loss of life and widespread destruction of agricultural crops. “Farmers in St. David,’’ added Lett, “are also crying out that they need assistance, such as for cleaning up of their fields, so that they can resuscitate their farms. We need to give them that kind of help. And there are lots of farm roads that need rebuilding too.’’ The NDC MP, a staunch Roman Catholic, and a graduate of the Presentation Brothers College in Grenada and the College of Arts, Science and Technology in Jamaica, said the National Democratic Congress also has plans for a town centre for St. David and for enhancing the La Sagesse Beach area. “We are talking about building a beach house in La Sagesse so that when people go there, there will be cubicles and other facilities for showering and changing,’’ Lett confided. The St. David town centre, said Lett, will be a central location for commerce; for fish vendors, farmers and for selling and buying other items. Lett, a former teacher at the St. David’s R.C. School, will be seeking re-election as MP for the parish when parliament is dissolved and polls are called. Political observers expect the next general election to be held this year. Opposition Leader and NDC head, Honourable Tillman Thomas, has said that his party is ready and waiting for the elections, and for the chance to usher in a new era of democratic governance in Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique.