Farcical local government democracy

Jan 13, 2010 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Democracy in the local government system in Guyana is all about lip service, not a reality.
The PNC and PPP had failed to implement a system that empowers the local democratic organs – a system which would have given the people in their communities the financial power and knowledge to manage their own affairs. The 1980 constitution decentralized the power of the state by establishing the 10 regional democratic councils as the constitutional elected local government authority for their respective regions, but the regions are powerless because parliament has never given the RDC the administrative power to raise their own revenues and to dispose the funds raised for the benefit and welfare of the areas under regional control. This was deliberately done by the PNC and continued by the PPP in order that central government can hold on to power and micro-manage the regions.
When the PNC was crafting the Local Democratic Organs Act 12 of 1980, the PNC ensured that it was designed in such a way as to give the Minister of Local Government – who acts on behalf of the President – the power to approve the raising of revenues, effectively cutting off the RDCs from seeking approval directly from Parliament where they can be a debate whether to approve or disapprove the RDCs requests.
The entire Local Government system is a farce since all the power vested by the people in their regional officials are actually usurped by the Local Government Minister, making the minister supreme with more power than any other Minister in the government. The PNC in 1980 had made a big mistake when they approved laws that gave the Minister of Local Government the power instead of the RDCs which are the rightful elected authority to hold such power for their respective regions.
The RDCs should be reporting directly to parliament but because of the greed of the PNC to retain Local Government control at the central government level, the system ended up being managed by a Local Government Minister with dictatorial powers. Parliament by a two third majority should have been the rightful authority to hold the power over the RDCs but this would have created an opportunity for shared governance which the PNC did not want and now the PPP in government would not share such power with the opposition in parliament, unless the people of Guyana force them to.
ACT #12 of 1980 is crafted in such a way as to incorporate other local government laws but some of these old laws can be declared unconstitutional by the courts. One such is 28:02 the Local Government Act which should not be enforced by the minister. This law gives the minister the power to bypass the RDCs and give directives to any lower tier local government authority which is a breach of the regional local democratic system of governance. All delegation of power or authority from central government should be delegated to the regional democratic councils in accordance with Section 10 of ACT 12 of 1980.
Currently laws designed to enhance dictatorship are in the hands of the PPP – the same PPP that had complained bitterly about dictatorship and fought against these same laws and the 1980 constitution which that party had deemed a fraud against the people and had called for the people of Guyana not to vote for the 1980 constitutional reforms. These very laws have now become a bible for governance without any major changes by the PPP. Now the PNC in the opposition seats are crying dictatorship when they were the ones who made the laws to strengthen dictatorship in local governance.
The people of this country elected the government and gave it the power and resources to manage and develop our country.
But regrettably, what we now have are a system and policies which take away the power and resources of the people, then use the very power and money to oppress the people who placed the PPP in the position to manage and advance the cause of all Guyana.
In 2001 the PPP and the PNC took away the power of the RDCs to elect 10 members of parliament. This authority is now vested in the hands of political parties, further stripping the regional system of any semblance of representing the people who elected their regional officials.
The appointment of persons who are either candidates or closely associated with the ruling party as Regional Executive Officers is another breach of local democracy. The PPP never established a Local Government Commission because that party is bent on holding on to the power to appoint the REOs. This gives the PPP the opportunity to place its members in top positions in the Local Government system, whether or not that party has the support of people in the particular region.
Section 28:01 of the Municipal and District Councils ACT stipulates that the council can only appoint persons who earn under $4,800.00 annually.
The RDCs have no power to appoint, confirm or to carry out disciplinary action against their officers without the approval of the Minister, so many officers do as they feel and get away with it because of their connection with the party in government.
In the PPP’s fight to control the regional government that party also introduced the Financial Management and Accountability ACT of 2003. This law gives the Finance Secretaries the power to bypass the RDCs; and gives the REO the power over the finances of the region. The tender and procurement ACT of 2003 also gives the REO chairmanship of the tender board of the region, so that the REO holds four offices: Clerk of the RDC, Regional Executive officer, treasurer and chairman of the tender board. No part of the local Democratic Organs ACT or other laws that govern local government authority gives one officer all those power. No international accounting system that I know of vests such power in one man hands. Many of our old and new laws are out of sync with the reality on the ground. Some other problems of the Regional Councilors have limited or no knowledge of the laws and system that govern local government authority and some who have knowledge may even turn a blind eye to the wrongs of central government when  politician violate the constitutional rights of the people.
How could a country have democracy when the Councilors are not paid anything near to that what is reasonable and just for them to perform their duties as Councilors.
There are no incentives for councilors to work. It does not appear reasonable to compensate Members of Parliament who make laws and policies, and at the same time overlook RDCs and NDCs Councillor who have to implement those laws and policies in the regions.
I also cannot understand why the RDCs have no say in the preparations for Local Government elections when the RDCs are the peoples’ representatives at the lower tier local government level.
If each region had the power vested in the Minister the regions could be in a position to run off local government elections every three years, and it does not necessarily have to be done simultaneously.
Michael Carrington
AFC region 4 Councilor

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