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Government’s refuses to debate Bills
‘They still think Guyana is theirs’—says Attorney Basil Williams
By Abena Rockcliffe
“For the last 20 years, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) ran away with the idea that Guyana belongs to the party. That is the belief that the administration is still clutching to, a belief that it is preventing it from allowing any decentralization of power.”
That is the conclusion by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)’s shadow Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, as he sought to put forward reasons why the government refused to debate the Local Government Bills at Thursday
APNU’s Basil Williams
sitting of the National Assembly.
In accordance with the way the business of the National Assembly is structured, Thursday was Private Members’ Day. That meant that Opposition members business had priority over Government business.
Based on the opposition “realization” that four Local Government Bills which were previously sent to a Select Committee had returned to the House, and given the importance it places on Local Democracy, APNU with the support of the AFC agreed to exercise its right to amend the standing order making way for debate and passage of the four Local Government Elections Bills, Williams said.
The four Bills are the Municipal and District Councils (Amendment) Bill 2012; Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2012; Local Government Commission Bill 2012 and Fiscal Transfers Bill 2012
When called upon by the Speaker to present the four Bills, Minister of Local Government, Ganga Persaud became “mute” and despite the urging of the Speaker of the National Assembly, “he arrogantly and contemptuously remained silent.”
This action by the Minister effectively prevented the National Assembly from delivering to the Guyanese people the legal instruments which would facilitate them taking back their communities from the Interim Management Communities imposed by the PPP/C.
APNU held a press conference to address the government’s refusal to speak to those Bills.
Williams said, “A Bill comes up for presentation and the Minister is dumbstruck? I have never seen that before; neither have I read about it before.”
Williams said that since the advent of the process to implement local government reform based on the constitutional provisions some 12 years ago, the government has procrastinated on the matter.
He added that, the government has no intention to lose the control that the Local Government Minister has on the local democratic offices.
“What has happened is that the opposition put the government in a position where it would show its hand whether it wants a local government election this year and local government reform. And so it was confirmed that this government has no intention to implement local government reform in Guyana…They just don’t understand that it is a different dispensation and they are no longer the majority in parliament.”
Minister of Local Government, Ganga Persaud
APNU’s Shadow Minister of Local Government, Ronald Bulkan said, “What happened is regrettable. The people of Guyana have waited some 16 years to see that legislation to enable the reform of local Government come into law.
“It has been 12 years since the process started. Finally, we reached the stage where it could have been a reality; but lo and behold the government once again confirmed that it is not interested in the process of reform of local government.
They are reluctant to relinquish their control of local authority and unwilling to allow local authorities to work independent as prescribed in the constitution.
The opposition caught the government by surprise, Williams said. “But if we didn’t do what we did, the public would have never seen what eventually came out. They are uninterested in Local Government Elections.”
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