ECHO supports Granger’s call for local govt. elections

Sep 16, 2014 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
The Environmental Community Health Organization (Echo) supports the call by Leader of the opposition Mr. David Granger for local government elections. This call, we believe, is not only timely but very urgent, particularly in circumstances where vital municipal systems and facilities in municipalities, towns and villages have been degraded and in some cases are nonexistent.
This situation has facilitated the rise of many environmental, community and public health problems, including the destruction of our forest and export of raw logs, by certain companies, including Bai Shan Lin (a Chinese Company, whose country (China) has banned the export of raw logs) crude mining operations, pollution of our rivers, creeks and other waterways, an unmanaged national solid waste problem, communicable and non-communicable diseases, and glaring architectural indiscipline resulting in traffic congestion and the degradation of urban areas.
Further, there are strong and distinct linkages between local government elections, democratically elected local authorities and the security and integrity of the natural environment.
Local government elections encourage political rights, and freedom of information. This will promote the cause of environmental interest groups, which in turn raises public awareness and encourages environmental legislation. This will stem the tide of environmental degradation by promoting environmental groups and public opinion at large. Information on environmental issues flows more freely, and political rights are more numerous and better protected in a local democracy. Environmental groups, therefore, are often more successful at informing people and organizing them to act on environmental problems in a situation where there is good local governance.
Second, local government elections will allow the authorities to be more responsive to the environmental needs of the public. This will be facilitated through electoral accountability and the ability of groups to mobilize socially, achieve political representation, and influence public policy making.
Third, there are institutional and ideational features to local democracy: properly elected local government bodies are more likely to comply with environmental agreements because they are expected to respect the rule of law. This in turn raises environmental quality.
Fourth, local government polls could facilitate local bodies that are pro-environment. They are more likely to be compliant with environmental regulations that curtail pollution and waste.
Therefore, we call on all residents in all local communities, to do all to encourage the powers that be to fix a date for local government elections; to hold local government elections to correct the numerous anomalies in all municipal systems across Guyana.
Royston King
Executive Director
Environmental Community Health Organization

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ECHO supports Granger’s call for local govt. elections

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