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Why is this elected official not being allowed to do his job?

Jul 02, 2013 Letters

 

Dear Editor,
In Guyana, rules and laws governing the regional and local political and electoral systems are enshrined in the Constitution. Whilst the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development (MLGRD) is responsible for overseeing the regional development councils (RDC), the Minister has to recognize that the RDC Councilors are elected representatives of the people and thus have the political authority to govern the region and the selected Government contract workers.
Further, the elected officials are the ones who are accountable to the people, therefore they should be given full power to advocate and develop the region on behalf of the residents. This should be part of the democratic process.
But there is apparently a serious misconception on the part of the Minister and his cohorts in Region Eight on the subject of who is the authentic representative. Despite what the government or the Minister says, Mark Crawford was duly elected by the people of Region Eight to be their Chairman, not the Regional Executive Officer, who is a contracted employee of the Minister and the regime. Therefore, the Minister should allow Mr. Crawford to do his job.
The human development program of Region Eight has to be conceived by the local people. The people of Region Eight at the 2011 Regional Elections voted as follows:-AFC-983 votes (6 seats), PPP/C-744 (4 seats), APNU-693 (4 seats), TUF-121 (1 seat). Take heed Mr. Minister.  On the one hand, you have asserted that Guyana is a democratic nation, yet on the other hand, you do not want to cede power to the elected representative of Region Eight. You cannot have it both ways or speak on both sides of your mouth.
Their message was overwhelmingly clear – they want the majority opposition in parliament (66% of the votes) to manage their affairs.  So the Minister has no moral authority to disregard the voice of the majority of the people and refuse to listen to their legitimate representative of Region Eight– Mr. Mark Crawford.
We are of the firm opinion that the Minister’s public outburst is at variance to the will of the people and maybe he does not want to accept the election results or he has got his arithmetic wrong. The Minister should do what is right for the people of Region Eight and stop playing politics with their lives. After all, they have endured more than their share of disappointment and let downs from this administration over the past 22 years. They are fed-up with the poor services they have been receiving from the regime.
But we cannot expect any better from the Freedom House operatives; they exhibit all the characteristics of “serial bullies” and dictatorial tendencies. They continue to use their position as a minority Government to impose their work plan on the majority in the Region without the people’s permission and approval. Then after conducting such blatant abuse on the people, they run to GINA and call it development.
We believe that this is the only regime in the world that has the strangest idea of what development is. They repair pot holes on roads and call it development. They restore power after a lengthy blackout and call it development. They pump water out from flooded areas and call it development.
It is very clear that the actions of the Minister and the Office of the REO are extremely detrimental to development in Region Eight. There has been continued mal-administration and lack of development in that Region. The end result is massive suffering and neglect of the people.
We call on the leaders of the Alliance for Change (AFC), the party of Mr. Mark Crawford, to bring this issue to the Parliament with a view of seeking answers and corrective measures to bring an end to the administrative dysfunctionality in Region Eight.
Dr. Asquith Rose and Harish S. Singh

 

 

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