The PPP has no interest in local democracy

Aug 31, 2014 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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By Michael Carrington
AFC National Executive Member

The Government has been using the Parliament to postpone local government elections so they can bypass the laws that fix the date for the holding of local government elections, that President Jagan, as opposition leader had fought for, for many years, and which were held in 1994.

Both Presidents Jagan and Hoyte had agreed that the date for local government elections be legislatively fixed. As a result, the date fixed by law is the first Monday of December every three years (Section 7 of Act 10 of 1990). The Guyana Elections Commission holds the authority to ensure that the elections are held on that date, however it seems that when President Jagan died local government elections died with him

The PPP-C Government for seventeen consecutive years has refused under one pretext or another to ensure that local government elections are held. This constituted another nail in the coffin for inclusionary democracy as dictated by Article 13 of the Constitution of the Republic of Guyana.

The Minister of Local Government has seemingly internalized the unethical PPP-C dirty politics. He does not seem to understand that inclusionary democracy cannot be implemented without local government elections. Inclusionary democracy means that Guyana has to be managed by elected authorities. The National Assembly is one such elected authority, which makes laws, approves budgets and policies. The President is another elected authority, whose duties include assenting to Bills passed in the National Assembly, formulating policies, appointing members of commissions, appointing Ministers and ensuring that they do not violate the laws and constitution of Guyana and performing various other constitutionally assigned duties.

The Regional Democratic Councils and the lower tier local government authorities such as Municipalities, Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and also Amerindian Village Councils are elected at separate elections. Their duties and responsibilities are in accordance with the Constitution of Guyana. Article 74 reads as follows:
1. It shall be the primary duty of local democratic organs to ensure, in accordance with the law, the efficient management and development of their areas and to provide leadership by example.
2. Local democratic organs shall organize popular co-operation in respect of the political, economic, cultural and social life of their areas and shall co-operate with the social organizations of the working People.
3. It shall be the duty of local democratic organs to maintain and protect public property, improve working and living conditions, promote the social and cultural life of the people, raise the level of civic consciousness, preserve law and order, consolidate the rule of law and safeguard the right of the citizens.

If any Minister reads the duties of Local Democratic Organs as identified above with a clean and just mind, they will understand that it is the local government authorities who hold the power to develop their local government area and not the Minister of Local Government.

The Minister can only be a provider and helper to the local government authorities as stated in section 5 of Act 12 of 1980 and not the director of local government authorities.

The PPP-C Ministers seem not to understand that the absence of local government elections and consequently the failure to have new councilors will result in, as it has, the crumbling of the foundation of the local administration. Any system, if it is to survive and be effective, has to have the infusion of new ideas and new personnel in order to sustain job creation and development.

The General Secretary of the PPP-C, Mr. Clement Rohee, also seems not to understand the importance of local government elections. His press release on Tuesday August 5, 2014 was laughable as he accused the Stabroek News of being unethical for their continuous statements condemning the non-holding of local government elections.

Mr. Rohee obviously does not understand how the word unethical should be used, and it definitely can be used to describe a government that deliberately refuses to hold local government elections and thus deprives the people of their right to elect representatives on their local government authorities. It definitely does not apply to a newspaper whose editor is calling on the Government to do what is right in accordance with the Law and the Constitution of Guyana.

The PPP-C Government continuously complains about the Mayor and City Council, not performing their duties, yet they do not want to remove the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown by holding elections. The Mayor has been in this position for 20 years, but this is not his fault. It is the fault of the Government for not holding local government elections.

In their comments about the city, the Government keeps knitting a web of deception. We all want our City to be clean, but the Government does not want to provide new laws or systems for generating revenue for the management of the City of Georgetown. Not even a 5% of the hundreds of millions of dollars they collected in Georgetown, from VAT and other taxes, is given to the City Council.

The Government also does not want to hold local government elections because they want to usurp the authorities of municipalities and neighbourhood democratic councils by appointing IMCs dominated by PPP-C members who they can control. They also budget for billions of dollars to be spent in local authority areas where they do not have the authority to carry out the duties of the council.

The PPP-C is fighting hard to get political mileage to stay in power, using state funds, through the Minister of Local Government, to do the council’s work. The Minister’s duty is to support local government authorities. While he may apply for a financial grant from the consolidated fund, as requested by a Regional Democratic Council for any Local council within the Region, he has no authority to spend the money by himself in local government areas. Sections 13 and 14 of 28:02 do not apply to municipalities or neighborhood democratic councils.

He is also usurping the powers of elected councils by appointing staff for local government authorities. The High Court has ruled that he has no such authority. He is also illegally moving staff in and out of regions, creating problems in the family life of persons in the regions.

The PPP-C is quite prepared to destroy whatever they cannot have full control over. Just look at City Hall, the Kitty Market, the Stabroek Market and the cemetery. All have deteriorated since the PPP-C gained power in 1992. I cannot forgive the PPP-C for the destruction they caused in the systems of local governance. They quite rightly condemned the PNC, but now they have done the same thing.

I know the leaders of the AFC would deliver us from the unjust humans that manage our country and I hereby call upon all of our citizens who believe in justice to join with us to make Guyana a better place for the next generation. Ethnicity can blind us in our search for betterment, but we need to deal with the issues that affect us and make decisions that are issue-based or Guyana would have no future.

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